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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



THIS VOLUME CONTAINS BIOGRAPHICAL 
SKETCHES OF 



THE LEADING CITIZENS OF 
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



MASSACHUSETTS 



"Biography is the home aspect of history" 



BOSTON 

Biographical Review Publishing Company 

I896 



PREFACE. 



THE present age is happily awake to the duty of writing its own records, setting down 
what is best worth remembering in the lives of the busy toilers of to-day, noting, not 
in vain glory, but with an honest pride and sense of fitness, things worthy of emula- 
tion, that thus the good men do may live after them. The accounts here rendered are not of 
buried talents, but of used ability and opportunity. The conquests recited are of mind over 
matter, of cheerful labor directed by thought, not of shrewdness in getting "something for 
nothing," but of honest, earnest endeavor which subdues the earth in the divinely appointed 
way. 

While the plan of the work did not call for minute genealogical research, we have gladly 
made use of such data for filling out family histories as have been furnished us, and in nu- 
merous cases have verified or corrected and extended the same by consultation of standard au- 
thorities. In these pages we have briefly chronicled the life-stories of descendants of some of 
the first settlers ot New England, progenitors who have a claim on what a wise speaker has 
termed "a moral and philosophical respect which elevates the character and improves the 
heart " ; passengers in the "Mayflower of a forlorn hope," and others who came in ships that 
closely followed in her wake, as the Fortune, the Lion, the Mary and John; representa- 
tives, too, of later immigrants to the shores of Massachusetts Bay, imbued with the true 
Pilgrim spirit, together with stanch and progressive compatriots of foreign birth. It has 
seemed worth while to write and to publish these biographies, because, to borrow the words 
of an eloquent speaker, such men and women as are here commemorated "by their industrious 
toil and faithful citizenship have kept sweet the heart of Xew England civilization. " Where- 
fore the book should commend itself as of more than passing interest and fleeting worth, — a 
volume to be prized by children's children. "The great lesson of biographv. " it has been 
said, "is to show what man can be and do at his best. A noble life put fairly on record acts 
like an inspiration." 
January, [896. 




HENRY A. KIMBALL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 




ON. HENRY A. KIMBALL, 
Mayor of Northampton, whose 
portrait is herewith presented, 
was horn in Windham, Wind- 
ham County, Conn., in what 
is now the town of Scotland, 
.May 3, 1842. He comes of 
good old Colonial stock early 
transplanted from the mother 
country, being a direct descend- 
ant of Richard Kimball, who with his wife 
Ursula and several children came from Ips- 
wich, England, in the ship "Elizabeth" in 
1634, was admitted a freeman at Watertown, 
Mass., in [635, removed to Ipswich, Mass., 
in 1637, and died there in 1675. Many of 
his posterity are living at this day in Essex 
County. The Kimballs of Windham County, 
Connecticut, claim Richard, Jr., born in 
1623, second son of the immigrant, as their 
progenitor, Pelatiah Kimball, one of his line- 
age, having removed to that locality at an early 
date, following the footsteps of a brother, a 
third Richard, of whom he bought a farm 
which has now been in the family about two 
hundred years. His son, Pelatiah, Jr., born 
in 1739, who married Mary Crowell, died 
March 1, 1 823, aged eighty-four years. Seven 
of his nine children grew to maturity. 

James Kimball, son of Pelatiah and Mary, 
and grandfather of Mayor Kimball, was born 
in Windham, Conn., on July 15, 1772; he- 
passed his entire life on the ancestral home- 
stead, and died on April 20, 1843. He and 



his wife, Betsy Bingham Kimball, reared three 
sons — Anson, Albert, and John --and two 
i daughters. Anson, who became a well-known 
teacher, a Justice of the Peace, and a farmer, 
died in 1SS5. John, the only one of the three 
now living, is a prosperous farmer in Newark 
Valley, Tioga County, N. Y. He and his wife- 
are remarkably bright and active at the age of 
eighty-three years. They have two daughters, 
and a son who is a surgeon in the United 
States Army. Albert Kimball was born on 
December 10, 1808, and died in 1885, having 
been throughout his active life extensively en- 
gaged in farming on the patrimonial acres, 
lie married Melissa Woodward, of Canterbury, 
Conn., who still resides at the family home- 
stead with her eldest son, James D. Kimball. 
Henry A., who is the fourth-born and sec- 
ond son of the six children of Albert and Me- 
lissa (Woodward) Kimball, passed his early 
boyhood upon the farm and acquired a good 
education in the district schools. He subse- 
cmently taught school several terms both in 
Connecticut and New Jersey. In 1869 he en- 
tered the employ of the New York, New 
Haven & Hartford Railroad as clerk in the 
freight office at New Haven, and after remain- 
ing in that capacity for two years was clerk to 
the superintendent of the Air Line Railway 
for one year, and then held for several years 
the position of general freight and ticket 
agent, also acting as superintendent. Mr. 
Kimball was connected with the road until 
[879, when he moved to Holyoke, Mass., and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



engaged in the coal business, having yards there 
and also in this city. In 18S1 he disposed of 
his interest in Holyoke, and since that time, 
in company with Frank W. Gary, has been 
engaged in the same trade in Northampton, 
conducting a large and profitable business. 

Mr. Kimball has always taken an active 
interest in public affairs, and, being a man 
abundantly fitted for the discharge of impor- 
tant trusts, has been called to fill various posi- 
tions of responsibility. He was a member of 
the Connecticut legislature in 1869, and of the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives for 
the years 18S8, 1889, and 1890, and during 
the years 1891, 1892, and 1893 held a seat in 
the State Senate. Although a Democrat in 
politics, he was chosen from a Republican dis- 
trict, and has been twice elected Mayor of the 
city of Northampton, giving the people a thor- 
oughly able and progressive administration. 
He is a Director of the Hampshire County 
National Bank, of the Hampshire County Sav- 
ings Bank, also of the Norwood Engineering 
Company ; and for the past five years he has 
been President of the New England Coal Com- 
pany of Hartford, Conn. In Masonry he has 
advanced to the Knight Templar's degree. 

He was first married in the month of Octo- 
ber, 1863, to Miss Mary T. Williams, who 
survived but two years; and he wedded for 
his second wife, on October 21, 1867, Hannah 
M. Williams, a sister of his first wile, both of 
them having been pupils at the school where he 
taught. Mi. and Mis. Kimball occupy a very 
pleasant residence at 57 Prospect Street, 
which he erected in 1883, and are socially very 
popular. 

LONZO STERLING KING, senior 

member of the firm of King Brothers, 
proprietors of the King Silk Mill 
at Easthampton, Mass., was born in West 




Springfield on February 26, 1838, son of Will- 
iam D. and Elizabeth (Brown) King, and 
grandson of Robert and Sarah (Conkey) King. 

Robert King was born in Chesterfield, 
Mass., in 1770. He spent a portion of his 
life in the wilds of New York; but his last 
days were passed in West Springfield, Mass. 
He died there in August, 1838, and rests in 
the Elmwood Cemetery. His wife, Sarah 
Conkey before marriage, who was of Scotch 
Presbyterian descent, was born in Worcester 
County, Massachusetts. They reared six of 
the twelve children born of their union, but 
all have since passed away. She died in 
1845, at upward of eighty years of age. 

William D. King, who was born in New 
York in 1798, chose for his vocation the trade 
of a stone cutter, which he followed with suc- 
cess throughout his life. In 1849 he settled 
in Easthampton, being induced to come 
thither at the solicitation of a Mr. Williston. 
He did the stone work on the Payson church 
and the Williston Seminar} - buildings. The 
stone posts and curbing around his last resting- 
place in the old Main Street Cemetery were 
the last work of his hands. He was married 
in 1827 to Miss Elizabeth Brown, of New- 
bury, Essex County, Mass. Her mother's 
maiden name was Mary Plummer; and she was 
born in the old Plummer home, which was 
owned by members of that family from 1633 
to about 1845. The union of Mr. and Mrs. 
King resulted in eight children, as follows: 
Dolly E., wife of Orrin Moore, of Brimfield, 
Mass. ; Henrietta, who married Laban Smith, 
and died in Connecticut in 1893, at sixty-three 
years of age; Mary J., wife of Dwight L. 
Clark, living in Easthampton ; Alonzo Ster- 
ling King, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. H. 
Adaline Thompson, a widow, and a regular 
physician with a large practice in Bridgeport, 
Conn. ; Charlotte, who married George W. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Flagg, and lives at Northampton; Asahel H. 

King, junior member of the firm of King 
Brothers; and Charles F. King, who is mar- 
ried and lives in Oakland, Cal. Their mother 
was a remarkable woman, and retained her men- 
tal and bodily activity to within a few days of 
her death, which occurred on December II, 
1893, in the eighty-seventh year of her age. 

Asahel B. King, who was born in West 
Springfield, now Holyoke, Mass., in 1847, 
afterward removed with his parents to Meri- 
den, Conn. ; and there at fourteen years of age 
he began to learn the trade of machinist. For 
two years he was employed in the government 
gun works, and from there he went to New 
Haven, where he continued to work at his 
trade until 1865, at which time he left to enter 
the employ of the Florence Sewing Machine 
Company. In 1866 he went to Northampton 
to live, and from that time up to 1881 he was 
employed by the Nonotuck Silk Company and 
by other parties in Florence and Leeds. He 
afterward joined his brother in the purchase of 
what is now known as the King Silk Mill, 
where they are doing a very successful busi- 
ness. On November 12, 1874, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Lizzie L. Field, of 
Northampton, a daughter of William E. and 
Lucretia L. (Dickinson) Field, the former of 
whom died in 1873, leaving his widow with 
two children. She is now seventy-six years 
ol age, and is living with her daughter. Mr. 
and Mrs. King's home has been brightened 
by the birth of a daughter, Bessie F. King, a 
charming young lady now in her teens and an 
attendant of the high school. Mr. King is a 
stanch Republican. He is a member of Ionic 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. His wife and daugh- 
ter are members of the Congregational church. 
The family reside on Centre Street. 

Alonzo Sterling King spent his early years 
in his parental home. In August, 1862, he 



entered the United States Navy as a volunteer, 
and served one year before the mast. What 
is now known as the King Silk Mills was es- 
tablished in 1876 at Glendale, Mass., and was 
then known as the Glenwood Silk Mills. 
This he conducted in partnership with O. G. 
Webster until the latter sold his interest to 
Asahel B. King, since which time the business 
has been carried on under the firm name of 
King Brothers. In 1884 the present plant 
was erected. It is a brick structure, two 
stories in height, with a basement. The main 
mill is one hundred and twenty feet long and 
forty feet in width, and has an L thirty by 
thirty-six feet in dimensions. Near by is the 
dye-house, which is one story in height and 
covers an area thirty by thirty-six feet. Al- 
though about seventy-five hands were formerly 
employed in the mill, a few less than thirty 
are now engaged there. The specialty is the 
manufacture of silk floss, organzine, and tram 
silks. 

Mr. King has never married. Neverthe- 
less, he has not lived for himself alone. He 
is one of the most reliable and active business 
men of Easthampton. He votes the Republi- 
can ticket and has always upheld the princi- 
ples of that party. At the present time he is 
holding the town office of Assessor, and for 
four years has been a member of the fire de- 
partment, of which he is Chief Engineer. He 
is affiliated with the Masonic Order and a 
member of Northampton Royal Arch Chapter. 
He is also Fast Commander of George C. 
Strong Post, Grand Army of the Republic, 
No. 166, of which he is an active member. 




ILLIAM FKNNO PRATT, at one 
time a leading architect of North- 
ampton, now living in retirement, 
was born here January 15, 1 8 14, son of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Thomas and Eunice (Parsons) Pratt. His 
father was born October 22, 1784, in Wey- 
mouth, Mass., son of Nehemiah and Ruth 
(Torrey) Pratt. Preceding Nehemiah was a 
Levi L. Pratt, of whom it is related that he 
was impressed by the British into their naval 
service and taken to a distant island. Nehe- 
miah, grandfather of William Fenno Pratt, 
was a farmer in Weymouth. He and his wife 
had several children, of whom three daughters 
married wealthy men ; namely, John Fenno, 
David Pulsifer, and Mr. Cutting. 

Thomas Pratt was a well-known and famous 
architect and builder of this city. He erected 
many of its finest dwellings, some of which 
are: the Blodgett mansion, of Grecian Ionic 
architecture; the Dewey House, of Smith 
College; the John Hopkins house, now occu- 
pied by Father Rainsville; and the Whitney 
house, near by. He was a useful citizen, and 
represented his town in the State legislature. 
His first wife had seven sons and one daughter, 
as follows: Seth Parsons, who died in child- 
hood; Thomas, a carpenter, who died in mid- 
dle life, leaving a wife and two daughters, all 
of whom are deceased; Levi, superannuated 
editor of the Watertown Times, of Watertown, 
N. Y., who has a wife; Wales P., who died at 
the age of twenty-six years; Charles S. , a 
resident of Northampton ; Horace, who was a 
soldier in a Connecticut regiment, and died 
from the effects of army life; Mary Ann, 
who married Morris Thayer, and died leaving 
one son, Wales P. Thayer; and William 
Fenno, the subject of this notice. 

William Fenno Pratt attended the public 
schools until he was sixteen years old, when 
he began to assist his father at the carpenter's 
trade. He aided in building the Blodgett 
house; and subsequently he drew the plans for 
the Easthampton church, one of his earliest 
architectural works. The plans for St. Mary's 



Parochial School were also his. Mr. Pratt 
continued in the business after his father's 
death, and in the course of time accumulated 
a competency. Being one of the foremost 
men in his line of business in this section of 
the county, Mr. Pratt was always busy, his 
services being in demand by any one requiring 
fine and substantial workmanship. 

On February 18, 1S35, Mr. Pratt was united 
in marriage at St. James Church, in Green- 
field, to Elizabeth Clapp, of Northampton, a 
daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Blackmail) 
Clapp, and the grand-daughter, on her mother's 
side, of David Strong, who well remembered 
many of the thrilling incidents of the Revolu- 
tion, and died in 1S57, at the advanced age of 
ninety-seven years. After enjoying nearly a 
half-century of happy wedded life, Mrs. Piatt 
died in 1884, in the sixty-ninth year of her 
age. She bore him eleven children, two of 
whom died in infancy. The others attained 
maturity, and were as follows: Harriet 
Fenno, wife of Robert Whitehouse, who died 
at the early age of twenty-one years, leaving 
one son; Henry, who was a soldier in the late 
Civil War, serving from 1862 until 1863 in the 
Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteer In- 
fantry, and died at the age of fifty years, leav- 
ing a wife and three children, of whom one is 
now living; Elizabeth Blackman, unmarried, 
who lives at home; Caroline A., the wife of 
S. B. Curtis, of Hartford, Conn., and mother 
of one son, who stands at the head of his 
classes in college; Anna L., wife of E. I. 
Clapp, City Clerk; Julia Am)', an invalid, 
who lives at home ; Sarah A., who died Sep- 
tember 30, 1874, aged twenty-five years; Will- 
iam Fenno Pratt, Jr., an architect, who is un- 
married and resides with his father, and is a 
man of unusual intelligence, with a phe- 
nomenal gift of memorizing, especially as 
regards dates; and Jennie C, Assistant City 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'3 



Clerk. Mr. Pratt is a strong adherent of the 
Democratic party, though in his younger years 
he was a Whig. Religiously, he is an es- 
teemed member of the Episcopalian church, in 
which lie has served as Vestryman, and in 
which lie was the organist from 1832 until 



185: 



He has the distinction of being one of 



1 hr oldest native-born citizens of Northamp- 
ton; and, notwithstanding that he has passed 
the allotted threescore and ten years of life by 
a full decade, he has retained the mental and 
u ;il vigor of his youth to a remarkable de- 
gree, even retaining his natural teeth as firm 
and sound as in his youthful days. Through- 
out his long life Mr. Pratt has fulfilled his ob- 
ligations as a loyal citizen in a most faithful 
manner, and is everywhere accorded the re- 
spect due him for his sterling integrity and 
upi ight manhood. 




'ERGLANT JAMES H. DAMON, 
an esteemed resident of Chester- 
field, was born January 4, 1842. 
II is father, also a native of this town, spent 
tin- major portion of his life in farming, and 
was married three times. His first wife, 
whose maiden name was Shaw, bore him three 
children, namely: Miranda, deceased; Oc- 
tavia, now living in Florence, Mass. ; and Seth 
T. , a resident of San Francisco. His second 
wife, Laura Angel 1 before marriage, was a 
native (if Huntington, and had nine children, as 
follows: Newton, now residing in San Fran- 
cisco; Mary, deceased; James H., the subject 
of this sketch; Hannah, also living in San 
Francisco; Martha, deceased; Emily, de- 
ceased; Henry, living in this town; Levi, 
also of Chesterfield; and Susan, deceased. 
After the death of his second wife, the father 
married Orpha Sturtevant, who survived him, 
dying subsequently in Chesterfield. 



Being one of a large family of children. 
James H. Damon began earning his own living 
at the tender age of ten years.- His first em- 
ployment was on a farm, where he winked hard 
for his board and clothes. He continued as a 
farm laborer until nineteen years of age, 
when, on August 11, [861, he gave his ser- 
vices to his country, enlisting in the Twenty- 
first Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Com- 
.pany H, commanded by Colonel William S. 
Clark, his company being under the command 
of Captain Rice. Mr. Damon proved a brave 
soldier, and was soon promoted to the rank of 
Sergeant. With his company he took part 
in many of the hardest-fought engagements of 
the war. Among them were the battles at 
Roanoke Island, Newbern, N.C., and Camden, 
the second battle of Manassas, the battles of 
Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, and 
Fredericksburg, the actions in the campaign 
of East Tennessee, the battle of Blue Springs, 
the skirmish at Campbell Station, the siege 
of Kno.wille, and the battle of the Wilderness. 
In the battle of Chantilly Mr. Damon re- 
ceived a bullet wound in the ankle, but pluck- 
ily declined to go into hospital. < In May 
6, 1864, at the battle of the Wilderness, he 
was captured by the rebels and taken to An- 
dersonville, where he remained in durance vile 
for ten months before he was released, Febru- 
ary 2~, 1865. He then came home for a 
thirty days' furlough, after which he was sent 
to Dale Hospital, Worcester, Mass. Here he 
remained until July 27, when he was honor- 
ably discharged. 

Soon after his return to the scenes of his 
childhood, Mr. Damon was united in marriage 
to Melinda Witherell, the nuptials being per 
formed August 19, 1865. Mrs. Damon was 
born in Westhampton, and was a daughter of 
Ransom Witherell, who subsequently removed 
with his family to Chesterfield, and their 



'4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



spent his remaining years. After his mar- 
riage Mr. Damon carried on his father's farm 
for five years, and then, in 1870, bought a 
farm in the southern part of the town of 
Chesterfield, and there carried on mixed hus- 
bandry until his removal to his present home 
in 1884. His good management, besides win- 
ning for him a respectable competency, has re- 
sulted in many improvements on his property. 
Always actively employed, he is a typical 
representative of the self-made men of the 
county. Mr. Damon is a steadfast Republi- 
can in politics and an intelligent worker in 
the interests of that party. He belongs to the 
Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 86, 
of Northampton ; and having never fully re- 
covered from the effects of his army life, 
his health being quite poor and his hearing 
badly impaired, he draws a pension from the 
government. 




^AMUEL H. DICKINSON, a highly 
respected citizen of Hatfield, Hamp- 
shire County, Mass., was born in 
this town, January 28, 1816, son of Solomon 
and Hannah (Huntington) Dickinson. Mr. 
Dickinson's grandfather, Daniel Dickinson, a 
native and lifelong resident of Hatfield, was 
an extensive real estate owner and a prosper- 
ous and influential citizen. He died at the 
age of eighty years. He married Lois Dick- 
inson ; and she became the mother of five 
children : Nancy, Rebecca, Daniel, Solomon, 
and Lois. The mother died at the advanced 
age of ninety-one years. 

Solomon Dickinson was born in a substan- 
tial old house which had been fortified and 
used as a stronghold during the Indian wars, 
and of which he at length came into possession, 
later building the new one in which his son 
Samuel H. was born. Throughout his active 
life he was energetically and successfully en- 



gaged in general farming, making a specialty 
of stock-raising. He was first a Federalist 
and then a Whig in politics, and was a Meth- 
odist in religion. Solomon Dickinson died 
in Hatfield, aged seventy-six years. His wife, 
Hannah T. Huntington, was a daughter of 
Samuel Huntington, of Norwich, Conn. They 
reared four children, as follows: Abbie; Sam- 
uel H., the subject of this sketch ; Philura T., 
who married G. W. Hubbard ; and Harriet, 
who married D. F. Wells. Mrs. Hannah T. 
Dickinson died at the age of sixty-eight years. 

Samuel H. Dickinson was educated in the 
schools of Hatfield and at the Greenfield Acad- 
emy. He resided with his parents as long as 
they lived, assisting his father in conducting 
the farm, and eventually succeeded to the pos- 
session of the homestead. He afterward pur- 
chased the Wells place, the house on which 
was erected by Dr. Peck in 1840, and has 
since become the owner of other valuable real 
estate, including some tenement-houses. Mr. 
Dickinson is known as one of Hatfield's most 
able and successful business men. Although 
he has now retired from active pursuits, he at- 
tends to his investment interests, and, being 
possessed of a robust constitution, enjoys per- 
fect health. He is unmarried. 

Desirous of conferring on his native town a 
substantial and permanent benefit, and of leav- 
ing behind him a lasting remembrance of his 
father and himself, a few years since, with 
considerate generosity, he devoted the sum of 
twelve thousand two hundred dollars to the 
erection in Hatfield of a library building. 
The work was begun in 1S92, and Memorial 
Hall was dedicated in 1894. It is a handsome 
and substantial structure, two stories high, 
built of brick and terra-cotta, and is fire-proof. 
The first floor contains a spacious hall, a room 
for mementos and relics, and the town clerk's 
office; while the upper floor is devoted exclu- 




' 



/, #Ar/0/u'/v 



n 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'7 



sively to the public library, the whole interior 
being finished in oak. The gift is highly ap- 
preciated by the people of Hatfield, who are not 
chary of gratitude to the kind-hearted donor. 

Mr. Dickinson is a strong supporter of the 
principles of the Republican party. He at- 
tends the Congregational church. We are 
happy to present herewith an excellent portrait 
of this philanthropic citizen. 




'YLVESTER H. TAYLOR, a prac- 
tical and prosperous member of the 
agricultural community, and a de- 
scendant of one of the pioneer families of 
Granby, first saw the light on the farm he now 
occupies, May 5, 1833. His father, Chester 
Taylor, was a lifelong farmer; and, with the 
eption of a short time spent in South- 
ampton, pursued his independent vocation on 
the family homestead. He married Eunice 
Strong, a native of Southampton, and of the 
union nine children were born, namely: Dexter 
S., deceased; Lydia, who lived to the age of 
seventy-nine years; Job S. , a resident of Lake 
County, Ohio; Thankful, now living in Lud- 
low, Mass.; Susan, who resides in Granby; 
William, deceased; Andrew J., deceased; 
Charles Henry of Granby; and Sylvester H. 
Neither of the parents is now living, the 
father having passed away August 4, 1 S 5 4 , 
and the mother ten years later. 

Sylvester H. Taylor, the subject of this 
sketch, enjoyed but limited educational advan- 
tages, having been obliged from his early boy- 
hood to assist in the manual labor incidental 
to life on a farm. However, in this way he 
received a practical training in the occupation 
that was to be his life work. In May, 1861, 
he married Miss Caroline F. Boynton, a 
daughter of Emery Boynton, and a native of 
Pelham, this county. Mr. Taylor brought his 



bride directly to the old homestead, and con- 
tinued in the calling to which he was reared. 
On August 25, 1862, inspired by patriotic 
motives, he enlisted, under Captain William 
Perkins, in company H of the Fifty-second 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, then com- 
manded by Colonel H. S. Greenleaf. With 
his regiment he took part in many eng; 
ments, including those at Irish Bend, La., and 
at Port Hudson. The term of his enlistment 
having expired, Mr. Taylor received his dis- 
charge August 14, 1865, and at once returned 
home. He was much debilitated at that time, 
and has never fully recovered his health since. 
His farm is a fine property, consisting of one 
hundred and thirty acres of fertile land, and 
in excellent cultivation. The greater part of 
the improvements have been made by him, and 
are convincing testimony of the perseverance 
and energy that have created them. 

Of his marriage with Mrs. Taylor there- 
have been born seven children, all of whom 
are well educated, some having completed their 
school life at the seminar}- in South Hadley. 
Their record is as follows: Edwin B. , residing 
in Swampscott, Mass. ; William, now de- 
ceased, formerly an employee of the Adams 
Express Company; Leon, living near the home 
farm; Jennie, a teacher in the school at 
Granby Centre; Homer, assisting on the farm ; 
Carrie L. ; and Mabel. Mr. Taylor has always 
had a pioneer's liking for the chase, and in for- 
mer years made a reputation for killing foxes. 
He is a stanch member of the Republican 
party, is prominent in local affairs, and faith- 
fully and acceptably served in various offices, 
having been Assessor, Road Supervisor, and 
seven years a Selectman of Granby. lie lie- 
longs to the Grand Army of the Republic, 
Post No. 183, of Smith Hadley Falls. In re- 
ligious belief both he and his wile are Con 
gregationalists. 



i8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




lHARLES EDWARD CLARK, a 

well-educated and progressive citizen 
of Northampton, who has a fine 
farm in the Seventh Ward, near Leeds, was 
horn on the farm where he resides in 1857, 
son of Edward L. and Artemesia (Whitney) 
Clark. He represents the fourth generation 
of his family horn in Northampton, and the 
third horn on this farm. 

His great-grandfather, Calvin Clark, who 
was horn on Elm Street, February 21, 1770, 
was one of the first settlers of this part of the 
town, taking a tract of timber land about the 
year 1792, when the district was sparsely in- 
habited and was mostly primitive forest land. 
There he established a homestead, which is 
still in possession of the family. Deacon Enos 
and Deacon Luther Clark, prominent citizens 
in the early days of Northampton, were his 
brothers. On February 9, 1792, Calvin Clark 
was united in marriage with Lucy Parsons; 
and their eldest child was Justin, born June 7, 
1 794, the grandfather of Charles Edward 
Clark. The other children were as follows: 
Dexter, born July 15, 1795, a mason residing 
in Northampton, who died about 1882; Lewis 
and Lucy, twins, born in 1798, the former of 
whom died in infancy, and the latter became 
the wife of Arby Stacey, of Belchertown, and 
died in 1834; Calvin, born in 1802, who died 
in 1.880; Fanny, born in 1804, who died at 
the age of sixteen; Laura, born in 1808, who 
died in 1S79. Justin Clark, the grandfather 
"I our subject, spent his life on the farm 
cleared by his father, dying May 17, 1880, in 
his eighty-sixth year. In 1822 he married 
Fanny Parsons, sister of the octogenarian, 
Josiah Parsons, who lives on Bridge Street, 
Northampton. She died in January, 1881, 
well advanced in her eighty-sixth year; and 
her husband followed her to their last home 
on the 19th of the next May. Two children 



brightened their home: Edward L. , born in 
October, 1823, the father of Charles Edward; 
and Elijah P., born in 1827, who died in his 
twenty-third year, unmarried. 

Edward L. Clark, like his father, spent his 
life on the home farm, winning a good liveli- 
hood from the generous soil, and finding ample 
food for his mind within the limits of North- 
ampton. He was married in October, 1852, 
to Artemesia Whitney, of Ohio, daughter of 
Josiah and Almira (Ellsworth) Whitney, who 
was born in 1828. Her father was a native of 
Connecticut, her mother of Ohio; and they 
were married in the latter State. They were 
both over eighty at the time of their death. 
Mrs. Clark is the fifth of seven children, five 
sons and two daughters, and is the oldest of 
the three living, Charles M. and Mary D. 
being the other two. Her family furnished 
its quota in defence of the Union, one brother, 
a soldier in the Thirty-seventh Illinois Regi- 
ment, dying of disease contracted in the army, 
and Charles M., who was in the One Hundred 
and Seventh Ohio Regiment, serving over 
three years and receiving a serious wound. 
He is now living in Ohio. F. J. Whitney, a 
leading farmer in Rock Island County, Illi- 
nois, was a prominent man in his district, serv- 
ing as Justice of the Peace, Postmaster, and in 
other official capacities. He died in 1882, at 
the age of sixty-six. Mrs. Clark is living at 
the old home with her son, very active in mind 
and body, though not very strong. She reared 
two children : Charles Edward, the subject of 
this sketch; and Mary A., wife of John Phin- 
ney, of Haydenville. 

Charles Edward Clark attended the district 
schools, acquiring there a fair amount of book 
knowledge, at the same time acquiring that 
knowledge of nature and natural laws that a 
country boy absorbs as a sponge does water. 
Being the only son, he became master of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



homestead at his father's death, and for some 
years has been engaged in general farming, 
making a specialty of dairying and sending 
milk to the creamery. He keeps from twenty 
to twenty-five cows, and has a large well- 
equipped barn, which was built in 1882. The 
house in which he resides was erected by his 
father over forty years ago, and the boards in 
the dining-room floor have been in use over 
one hundred years, having done service in the 
floor of the east room in the old house of the 
great-grandfather. 

Mr. Clark was married January 1, 1890, 
to Nancy Belle, daughter of Albert E. and 
Alary A. (Parks) Wright. The latter died in 
1894, leaving besides Mrs. Clark one other 
daughter and a son : Sarah, wife of E. B. 
Gibbs, of North Blandford, Mass. ; and Lyman 
E., who lives in Chester on the farm with his 
father. Mrs. Clark is a refined and well-edu- 
cated lady, a graduate of Leicester Academy, 
and was a teacher for some time before her 
marriage. Mr. ami Mis. Clark had one son, 
who died in infancy. Mr. Clark is an inde- 
pendent voter. He served on the Board of Al- 
dermen in 1890. He has some advanced ideas 
respecting city government. Mrs. Clark is a 
member of the Congregational church at Will- 
iamsburg. They have an ideal home, roomy 
and well-kept, and may lie regarded as repre- 
sentative types of Northampton's best citizens. 




UMNER <). POLLEY, who is suc- 
cessfully engaged in and owns a 
prosperous tobacco store in the town 
of Amherst, was born in New Salem, Mass., 
July 12, 1825, and is a son of Amos and 
Jerusha (Sawyer) Pol lev. 

Amos Polley, who originally came from 
Ashburnham, Mass., conducted a grist-mill for 
a time, and in connection therewith he also en- 



gaged in the trade of a cooper, which he had 
followed for some time in North New Salem. 
He next turned his attention to getting out 
palm leaf for hats, at which he was employed 
in Mossville for about four years. Later he 
purchased a farm in Pelham, on which the last 
years of his life were calmly spent in the cul- 
tivation of the soil. He was liberal in relier- 
ions matters, and in politics a Democrat. He 
died in Pelham at fifty-nine years of age, while 
his wife lived to eighty-five years of age. 
They were the parents of nine children, as fol- 
lows : Annie, Amos, Hiram, Abbie, Jerusha, 
Sumner O. , George, James, and .Adeline. 

Sumner O. Polley, who is now the only 
child living, spent his earlv years in the towns 
of Pelham and New Salem. He lived on the 
old farm until he was seventeen years of age, 
when he went to Northampton and obtained 
employment in a palm-leaf shop. After giv- 
ing three years to that business he tried his 
fortune in several places, but finally, in 1844, 
settled in Amherst. Here he carried on a res- 
taurant at first; then he started his present 
business, that of tobacco, cigars, and smokers' 
articles. The stand he occupies has been his 
for many years, during which time his prop- 
erty has been twice destroyed by fire, first 
on March 13, 1876, and next on March 1 ;, 
[888. 

He was married on October 20, 1847, to 
Miss Marah Brown, who was born in Conway, 
Franklin County, Mass., on February 21, 
1830, and is a daughter of Erastus Brown, of 
that place. She has borne her husband two 
children, Gorham F. and Marah P. Mr. Pol- 
ley is a Democrat. He is not a believer in 
any particular religious creed. His wife, how- 
ever, is a communicant of the Congregational 
church. Mr. Polley is one of the oldest busi 
ness men of Amherst; and, as he has always 
lived in that vicinity, he has a large circle oi 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




friends and acquaintances. The family reside 
in a comfortable home which is Mr. Policy's 
property. 

<■*»»■» 

"ON. HENRY C. COMINS, a widely 

known and successful farmer of North 
Hadley, and a veteran of the Civil 
War, was born in Leverett, Franklin County, 
April ii, 1837, son of Simon F. and Nancy 
T. (Sweet) Comins. Mr. Comins's father was 
a native of Worcester County, and followed 
farming anil lumbering throughout his life, 
lie was engaged in the latter occupation for 
some time in the State of Maine, moving later 
to Franklin County, Massachusetts, where he 
resided until 1 84 1 , when he purchased a farm 
in Russellville, Hampshire County, upon which 
he passed the remainder of his life, and died 
in December, 1875. Simon F. Comins was 
prominent in the public affairs of the county, 
was an Assessor of the town of Hadley, and 
held other positions of trust. His wife, whom 
he married while residing in the State of 
Maine, was a native of Attleboro, Mass. ; and 
she became the mother of four children, as fol- 
lows: James, who is a prosperous farmer of 
South Hadley; Nancy, who married R. M. 
Montague, of North Hadley, and is now dead; 
Henry C, the subject of this sketch; and 
Martha A., who married E. P. Hibbard, and 
resides in Holyoke. She died in December, 
1879. 

Henry C. Comins commenced his education 
in the public schools, and completed his stud- 
ies at the Hopkins Academy in Hadley and 
Kimball Union Academy of Meriden, N.H. 
He adopted agriculture as an occupation, 
which he followed until 1862. On August 
25 of that year he enlisted as a private in Com- 
pany H, Fifty-second Regiment, Massachusetts 
Volunteers, under Colonel H. S. Greenleaf 
and Captain William Perkins, for nine months' 



service in the Civil War. He participated in 
the battle of Franklin and the siege of Port 
Hudson, and received his discharge in Green- 
field, Mass., on August 14, 1863. After fol- 
lowing agricultural work in Hampshire County 
for one year he moved to his present farm in 
North Hadley, consisting of twenty-six acres, 
twenty acres of which were under cultivation 
at the time of purchase. Among other im- 
provements effected by him since were addi- 
tions to the present residence. He has also 
brought the land to a high state of fertility. 

In 1858 Mr. Comins was united in marriage 
to Harriet Ellen Smith. She was born in 
North Hadley, September 12, 1837, daughter 
of Horace and Mary (Belden) Smith, both of 
whom passed their lives in that town. Mr. 
and Mrs. Comins had three children. Will- 
iam H., the eldest and only survivor, was born 
in 1859, and is a graduate of the State Agri- 
cultural College at Amherst. He is now en- 
gaged in agriculture in North Hadley. He 
married Cornelia K. Lombard, and has three 
children : Henry Earl, John Orin, and Leroy 
Duncan. The other children were Carrie H. 
and Lowell Smith, both of whom died in in- 
fancy. Mrs. Comins died March 21, 1893. 
She was a member of the Congregational 
church. 

Mr. Comins is a stanch Republican, and cast 
his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has 
been active in forwarding the interests of his 
party, and has filled many positions of public 
trust with credit, both to himself and his con- 
stituents. He has been a member of the School 
Hoard for fifteen years, and is now its chair- 
man. For three years he was a member of the 
State Board of Agriculture, and in 1894 rep- 
resented his district in the legislature. He 
held the office of President of the Hampshire 
Agricultural Society for three years, and is 
Vice-President of the Hampshire, Franklin, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and Hampden Agricultural Society, which is 
one of the largest organizations of its kind 
in the State. He is also a member of the 
Franklin Harvest Club, a select organization 
composed of the leading men of the Connecti- 
cut valley. He is a comrade of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and was the first Com- 
mander of Edward M. Stanton Post, No. 147. 
of Amherst, Mass. Hon. Henry C. Comins 
has attained his present position through his 
own unaided efforts. 




ILLIAM CLAPP POMEROY, of 
Northampton, pattern-maker for the 
Norwood Engineering" Company of 
Florence, was born at Williamsburg, July 4, 
1835. He is a son of William H. and Nancy 
(Pomeroy) Clapp, his father having been a 
native of Northampton, while his mother was 
a daughter of William Pomeroy, of Williams- 
burg. He was the eldest son and second-born 
"f six children. All are living except one 
son, Sidney S. , who was a volunteer in the 
Thirty-first Massachusetts Regiment during 
the Civil War, and who, after serving for a 
period of two years, returned home and died 
of consumption at the age of twenty-three years. 
Mr. Pomeroy and his brother, Frank Clark 
Clapp, were also volunteers, having enlisted in 
the Fifty-second Regiment for nine months, 
and saw one year of active service during the 
memorable struggle. Mr. Pomeroy's sisters, 
Ellen A., wife of Frank II. Strong, and Caro- 
line L., wife of Samuel A. Clark, reside at the 
(dd Pomeroy homestead. The property was first 
taken possession of by their great-grandfather. 
Their grandfather, who had six daughters, but 
no male heir, left it to William Pomeroy 
Clapp, who, on that account, by a special 
act of the legislature in 1849, changed his 
name to William Clapp Pomeroy. His grand- 



father's wife before her marriage was Rachel 
Edwards, of Chesterfield, Mass. They were 
both members of the Congregational church, 
of which he was for man}' years a Deacon. 
lie died at the age of eighty-two years, and 
his wife at seventy-five. 

Mr. Pomeroy's parents resided near the (dd 
homestead during their entire married life. 
His father died there at the age of sixty-one 
years, and his mother at about the same age. 
four years later. Of his paternal ancestors, 
grandfather Sereno Clapp, a native of North- 
ampton, was a blacksmith by trade. Bv his 
marriage with Lydia Patterson, of Rhode Isl- 
and, he had three sons and one daughter, and 
died at the age of sixty-one years. 

Mr. Pomeroy received his education in the 
common schools of Williamsburg. At the age 
of fifteen he engaged in farm labor both at 
Sunderland and Westfield for about two years. 
He then served an apprenticeship at Holyoke 
to the machinist's trade for three years. After 
this, in company with a friend, he started 
West, working his way to Ohio, thence 
through Michigan and Wisconsin to Oronoco, 
Minn. Here he worked as carpenter until 
1859, when he returned to his home. 

On January 1, 1861, he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Susan A. Newcomb, of Leyden, 
daughter of Charles W. Newcomb. Of their 
five sons, three are still living. William 
Newcomb, a salesman, passed to spirit life 
May 29, 1887, at the age of twenty-five; and 
Charles S. , a mechanic, on January in. [888, 
in his twenty-fourth year. Henry W. Pome- 
roy is a pattern-maker at Florence; Frank S. 
also follows the business of his father; ami 
Edward S., who is a thorough mechanic and an 
able draughtsman, is in the employ of the 
Norwood Company. 

Mr. Pomeroy has advanced in Masonry t<> the 
Commander}'. He is also Past Master of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Jerusalem Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and a Past 
High Priest of Northampton Chapter, Royal 
Arch Masons. He was the first Commander of 
William L. Baker Post, Grand Army of the 
Republic, for a period of four years, and served 
upon the staff of Commander-in-chief Will- 
iam Warner. The family are Spiritualists, 
his late son, Charles S. , having had the repu- 
tation of being a wonderful seer among the 
brethren. The family occupy a very pleasant 
residence at 102 Crescent Street, Northamp- 
ton, which Mr. Pomeroy erected in 1888. 



'OSEPHUS CRAFTS, a venerable and 
well-known citizen of Northampton, 
until recently President of the Hamp- 
shire County Savings Bank, and a man of ster- 
ling character, was born in Deerfield, Franklin 
County, Mass., March 2, 18 10. The progeni- 
tor of the Crafts family in America is said, 
by tradition, to have come over from England 
in the "Mayflower." His name is not found 
in Hotten's list of the Pilgrims of 1620; but 
he may have been a passenger in a subsequent 
voyage, that historic vessel, it is claimed by 
students of Colonial history, having brought 
emigrants to these shores in 1629 and 1630. 
Savage's Genealogical Dictionary says that 
Griffin Crafts came in 1630 in the fleet with 
Winthrop — tradition again says, in the 
"Arbella." (See sketch of David W. Crafts 
on another page of this volume.) 

Chester Crafts, father of Josephus Crafts, 
was born in Whately, Franklin County, Mass., 
in 1783, and was the son of a farmer in moder- 
ate circumstances. He died in Deerfield on 
September 27, 1827, on the day on which his 
brother Roswell was buried, his own summons 
to depart coming very suddenly and unex- 
pectedly while his family were attending the 
funeral, at which he himself, though in feeble 



health, had thought to be present. Like his 
father, he was a farmer. He married Phila 
Jewett, of Deerfield; and to them nine chil- 
dren were born, five sons and four daughters, 
of whom Josephus is the eldest. Four sons 
and one daughter are now living: David W., 
in Northampton; Roswell P., in Holyoke; 
Albert, in Ashfield ; and the sister, Sylvia, 
widow of Alvin Field, in Northampton. Mrs. 
Phila J. Crafts lived to be nearly ninety years 
of age, dying in Northampton at the home of 
her son David. 

Josephus Crafts when but a lad of nine years 
left his home to go to that of Russell Cooley, 
a large farmer of Deerfield. Here he lived 
for nine years, working hard most of the time 
and getting but a very meagre schooling, so 
that, when he started out at eighteen to win 
his way in the world, his capital consisted 
chiefly of his health and energy. Walking to 
Greenfield, he let himself to Spencer Root, a 
hotel-keeper and stage proprietor, as hostler. 
He soon began to drive stage, and one year 
later, when the mail contract changed hands, 
engaged to drive for another party. He drove 
stage for about five years on the Ashfield road, 
and in the course of that time met his fate and 
married. Mr. Crafts next bought the stage 
route, which he ran for seven or eight years, 
when he established himself in business at 
Ashfield as a dealer in dry goods and West 
India goods, including rum, which was a staple 
in those days. And the marvel is that Mr. 
Crafts never drank a glass of rum, nor did he 
smoke, though his father was a veteran smoker, 
his one experience when a boy, from which he 
was deathly sick, proving sufficient. Mr. 
Crafts carried on this business for about six 
years in connection with a small farm. On 
leaving Ashfield, about thirty years ago, he 
came to Northampton. His first purchase of 
real estate here was the lot on which the 



9 



4te 



f 




JOSEPHUS CRAFTS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Hampshire House now stands, this block hav- 
ing been erected by him in 1870. He also 
bought another lot back of it, which he sold at 
a handsome profit. Although people doubted 
his wisdom in purchasing this property, it has 
proved a good investment, bringing him in a 
yearly rent of from eighteen hundred to twenty- 
four hundred dollars. Since coming to North- 
ampton Mr. Crafts has done little business 
aside from making loans and settling estates, 
of which, as administrator, executor, trustee, 
or assignee, he has had charge of one hundred 
and twenty-one, some in Greenfield, but most 
of them in Northampton, and some of them 
reaching far into the thousands, showing the 
confidence in which he has always been held 
by his fellow-men. Mr. Crafts has been one 
of the organizers of several different banks, 
three in Holyoke, one in Conway, and one in 
Shelburne Falls. The Hampshire County 
Savings Bank was started in Northampton 
about thirty years ago; and about twelve years 
ago, when Luther Bodman, the president, died, 
Mr. Crafts became his successor, and filled the 
place most faithfully up to the summer of 
1895, when he voluntarily retired. 

Mr. Crafts married Roxie U., daughter of 
Lyman Cross, for main' years landlord of a 
stage house on the Ashfield road. Mr. and 
Mrs. Crafts reared to adult life two of the 
seven daughters born to them anil one son. 
Their only living child now is Harriet L., 
wife of Joshua H. Fraser, of Holyoke, and 
mother of a son and a daughter. Mrs. F laser's 
sister, Frances F. , wife of Henry C. Ilallett, 
died in Northampton in the fall of 1894, at 
the age of forty-two, leaving four children, 
one daughter and three sons. 

In political affiliation Mr. Crafts is a firm 
Democrat and has served on some of the com- 
mittees. Air. and Mrs. Crafts are members of 
the Edwards Congregational Church. This 




exemplary couple have enjoyed sixty-two years 
of wedded life, a rare experience; and both are 
still in comfortable health. Their home is at 
71 Market Street, where they settled within 
three years of coming to Northampton, which 
they have seen grow from a village of about 
five thousand inhabitants to its present popula- 
tion of some eighteen thousand. The accom- 
panying portrait of Mr. Josephus Crafts will 
be recognized ami appreciated by many friends. 



ENRY N. SMITH, a successful agri- 
culturalist of South Hadley, was born 
in that town, September 7, 1826, 
son of Nelson and Rebecca (Smith) Smith. 
Mr. Smith's grandparents were Josiah and 
Phebe (Nash) Smith, the former of whom was 
born in Hampshire Count}', December 6, 1761. 
He moved to Vermont, where he followed 
agriculture for a time, but eventually returned 
to Massachusetts, and died in South Hadley at 
the age of eighty-tour. His wife, who was 
born in Granby, Mass., January 14, 1769, died 
in 1846. 

Nelson Smith, Mr. Smith's father, was born 
in Brookfield, Yt., May 18, 1801. He came 
tn Smith Hadley when a young man, and suc- 
cessfully engaged in agriculture until his 
death, which occurred in 1879. His wife be- 
came the mother of five children, as follows: 
Harriet L. , who died in infancy; Henry X.. 
the subject of this sketch; William, who re- 
sides with his children in South Hadley; Jen- 
nie, who married J. E. Kellogg, and is now 
deceaseil ; and Clara L. , who married for her 
first husband Samuel Judd, and for her second 
J. E. Kellogg, and is now a widow residing in 
Holyoke. The mother died in 1882. 

Henry X. Smith was educated in the schools 
of South Hadley and was reared to farm lite. 
He resided with his parents until after his 



26 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



marriage, when he purchased his present farm, 
which consists of about fifty acres of well- 
located land, twenty of which are under culti- 
vation. He has improved his property as rap- 
idly as circumstances would permit, and now 
possesses a valuable farm, which he conducts 
with good results. He was formerly a Whig 
in politics, but has supported the Republican 
party since its formation. 

On April 8, 1856, Mr. Smith was united in 
marriage to Mary D. Cook, who was born in 
Hadley, February 12, 1829, daughter of Win- 
throp and Sophia (Smith) Cook. Mrs. 
Smith's parents are now dead. 'Mr. and Mrs. 
Smith have two children, namely: Mary, who 
married John Barstow, and resides in Hadley; 
and Arthur N., who married Clara E. Mon- 
tague, and resides in Holyoke. Mr. and Mrs. 
Smith are members of the Congregational 
church. 

«■♦•♦■» ■ 

lELVIN L. GRAVES, senior mem- 
ber of the firm of M. L. & 
M. W. Graves, dealers in grain, 
flour, feed, etc., in Northampton, was born in 
South Leverett, Mass., September 17, 1847. 
He is of English extraction, being a lineal 
descendant of Admiral Thomas Graves, who 
came from England some time during the 
1630's, and settled on the peninsula of Misha- 
wum, now called Charlestown, in Massachu- 
setts. It is probable that this emigrant 
ancestor is the Thomas Graves recently al- 
luded to by B. F. DeCosta, in the New Eng- 
land Magazine, in stating that the Sprague 
brothers, going from Salem to Mishawum in 
1629, were accompanied by an engineer, one 
Thomas Graves, who proceeded to there lay 
out a town. 

After a few generations the descendants 
of the said Thomas Graves began to settle 
in other sections of Massachusetts. Daniel 




Graves, the grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, removed to Franklin County with his 
wife, a native of Dublin, N. H., whose maiden 
name was Phcebe Mason. He settled in the 
town of Leverett, buying a farm on which he 
worked during seed-time and harvest. He 
also manufactured agricultural implements 
when there was water enough in the stream to 
run his factory. When he died is not re- 
corded. His wife, who bore him three chil- 
dren, one son and two daughters, died in 1865, 
aged sixty-five years. 

Cyrus M. Graves, the father of Melvin L. 
Graves, was born in Leverett. He had a nat- 
ural aptitude for the trade of a mechanic, and 
worked for several years in his father's shop. 
When nineteen years old he embarked in the 
manufacture of hoes, rakes, etc., building up a 
large business in the town of North Leverett. 
He was skilled in all branches of his business, 
and a very ingenious workman. He was the 
first man to fasten the nib on a scythe snath 
with a screw. In 1854, in the month of Octo- 
ber, he moved to Northampton to take charge 
of the factory of the Bay State Manufacturing 
Company, and remained in that position until 
the firm failed. In 1857 he went to Colum- 
bus, Ohio, where he had charge of the shops 
at the State Penitentiary for four years. Re- 
turning then with his family to his home and 
property in this city, he became an employee 
of the gun and cutlery works here until 
within two years of the time of his death, 
which occurred at his home on Washington 
Avenue, January 12, 1886. 

The maiden name of his wife was Jane 
Gunn, a native of Montague, being the daugh- 
ter of Samuel Gunn. She and her daughter, 
Lucy J-, still occupy the old home. She has 
reared five children, as follows: Myron W. , 
who is in business with the subject; Melvin 
L. ; C. M., a railway freight clerk in North- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



ampton ; Lucy J., a teacher; and Herbert R., 
book-keeper for the firm of M. L. & M. W. 
Graves, and a dealer in bicycles. 

Melvin L. Graves attended the high school 

in Columbus, Ohio, and after returning to 
Northampton studied at the high school here 
for a while. At the age of sixteen years he- 
entered the gun works as an inspector of bayo- 
nets, remaining there three years. He left 
then to continue his studies in the Springfield 
Business College, later taking a post-graduate 
course there. He subsequently became book 
keeper for Thayer & Sergeant, dealers in 
grain, flour, etc., including broom corn, con- 
tinuing with them until the dissolution of the 
firm. Then, in October, 1S75, forming a 
partnership with his brother Myron, he con- 
tinued the business, renting the property for 
the first five years, and then purchasing the 
entire plant, including store and mill. The 
firm in this way established conducted an ex- 
tensive and profitable business until March 27, 
1894, when the entire plant was destroyed by 
a disastrous conflagration, involving a loss of 
thirty-five thousand dollars, partially covered 
by an insurance of thirty thousand dollars. 
Since that time the firm has carried on busi- 
ness in temporary quarters, pending the deci- 
sion of the grade crossing question. 

Mr. Graves was united in marriage < Ictober 
18, 1870, with Miss Annie L. Leonard, of 
this city, the youngest child of the late 
Archellas and Emeline (Alvord) Leonard, the 
latter of whom is still living. Mr. ami .Mrs. 
Leonard were the parents of five children, as 
follows: Henry, a volunteer in the late Civil 
War, who died at the age of twenty years; 
Sarah, who died soon after the death of her 
brother; Chester, an employee of the govern- 
ment, residing in Hartford; Mary, married to 
Stephen D. Sprague, of this city; and Annie 
L. , Mrs. Graves. Mr. and Mrs. Graves are 



the parents of three children, as follows: 
Leonard M., a shoe dealer in Greenfield, 
carrying on an extensive business; Mabel G., 
who was graduated from the high school in 
[894, living at home; and Myron II., a 
clever youth of fifteen years. Mr. Graves is 
very active ami influential in political, social, 
and educational circles. He belongs to the 
Legion of Honor, of which he has been Treas- 
urer since its organization, in [880. He has 
also been a member of the Board of Education 
since the incorporation of the city, being the 
oldest member in point of service. He has 
been an elector and Auditor of the Smith 
Charities for several years. He has likewise- 
been Treasurer of the Northampton Co-opera- 
tive Bank since its establishment. Mr. and 
Mrs. Graves have a delightful home at 40 
Washington Avenue, where they take genuine 
pleasure in welcoming their many friends, 
entertaining them with true New England 
hospitality. 

Myron W. Graves was born in North Lever- 
ett, Mass., August 27, 1S45, and has been in 
business with his brother Melvin since 1S75. 
On December 6, 1871, he married Melvina E. 
Jepson, formerly of Ashfield, and one of 
three children born to the late George R. Jep- 
son and his wife, whose maiden name- was 
Mary Leach. The other children were: 
Lyman A. Jepson, and Lewis I-;., deceased. 
Five children have blessed the union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Myron Graves, one of whom died in 
infancy. The others are : Lewis }■]., a carpen- 
ter of this place; Cyrus M., a plumber of 
Northampton; Edith M., an accomplished 
young lady; and Anna Marion, seven years 
old. In politics Mr. Graves, like his brother, 
is a stanch Republican, and has been a Council- 
man two years. Religiously, he is a valued 
and conscientious member of the Baptist 
church. He and his family occupy a pleas- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ant residence at 101 West Street, he having 
purchased the house before his marriage. 
They are much esteemed by their neighbors. 




PAYSON LYMAN, a prominent citi- 
zen of Westhampton, Mass., where he 
is engaged in general farming, was 
born in the house he now occupies, May 27, 
1S34, son of Sereno and Deborah (James) 
Lyman. Sereno Lyman was born in the same 
house, February 2, 17S8, and his wife was 
born in Chesterfield, Mass., December 6, 
1789. His father, Rufus Lyman, was engaged 
in farming and stock-raising on this estate, 
and there he died June 6, 1807; and his 
mother, whose maiden name was Martha Burt, 
passed away August I, 1827. They reared 
eleven children; namely, Jerusha, Asahel, 
Rufus, Martha, Enoch, Tryphena, Nancy, Se- 
reno, James flarvey, John Burt, and Liberty. 
Sereno Lyman, father of E. -Payson Lyman, 
spent his entire life, with the exception of a 
few months, on the farm now owned by his 
son. In 1 814 he was drafted for military ser- 
vice at Boston, and having received the rank 
<>l Sergeant returned to Westhampton at the 
end of two months. He was one of the most 
prominent farmers in the district. His death 
occurred December 26, 1877. Sereno Lyman 
was twice married. His first wife, to whom 
he was united September 16, 181 3, was Mary 
Clark, of Southampton. She died January 13, 
1 Si 8. She was the mother of two children: 
Asahel, who, born July 22, 181 5, died Sep- 
tember 11, 1856; and the other child died 
in infancy. His second wife, Deborah James, 
was the daughter of Thomas James, a native 
oi Cohasset, born July 11, 1758. He was a 
sea captain, and spent part of his life in Ches- 
terfield, Mass., and in Westhampton, dying in 
the latter place March 1, 1834. Mrs. Lyman 



passed away September 6, 1868, in her 
seventy-ninth year. She was the mother of 
five children, namely: Sereno Dwight, born 
September 10, 1822, who was married Septem- 
ber 5, 1849, to Lucy B. Williams, and died 
April 7, 1850; Mary C, born May 22, 1825, 
who died November 11, 1856; William James, 
born June 28, 1827, who lives near his 
brother, the subject of this sketch, and mar- 
ried Arethusa Parsons, who died December 
29, 1886; Francis Oscar, born July 7, 1830, 
who was killed in a wind storm in Wisconsin, 
July 24, 1851; and E. Payson, the youngest 
of the family. 

E. Payson Lyman was reared on the farm, 
and, as his father was lame, many of the 
duties requiring an active worker devolved 
upon him. His father bequeathed the home- 
stead to him, and he has since been sole pro- 
prietor. One of many improvements made by 
him was the clearing of several acres of 
timber. It is now one of the best farms in 
the county, and comprises about three hundred 
and fifty acres, forty of which are under culti- 
vation. 

In politics Mr. Lyman is a stanch Repub- 
lican. He has served as Selectman and filled 
other offices, but has refused several positions 
offered to him, not caring to act further in 
a public capacity. In religious belief he is a 
Congregational ist, and takes an active interest 
in church work. Westhampton boasts many 
old families, and Mr. Lyman's is one of the 
oldest among them, while he is personally a 
worthy representative of a sturdy race. 




UGENE G. KELLEY, an enterprising 
and successful merchant of Greenwich 
and Postmaster of that town, was 
born in Greenwich, January 25, 1857, son of 
George S. and Delia S. (Edson) Kelley. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Keller's great-grandfather, George 
Kelley, who was born December 23, 1755, 
was the original ancestor of the family to 
locate in Greenwich. He followed agriculture ! 
as an occupation during his entire life, and 
died in Greenwich, December 14, 1819. His 
wife, Hoxia Kelley, became the mother of 
nine children: Rebecca, Rhoda, Sampson, 
Elias, Olive, Sylvia, Chloe, Seth, and Smith. 
She died August 30, 1826. Smith Kelley. 
Mr. Kelley's grandfather, was a resident in 
Greenwich from the time when he was a young 
man until his death. He owned a good farm 
in the north-west part of the town, which he 
conducted successfully. He died at the age of 
seventy-eight years. He married for his first 
wife Caroline Titus, who died in 1832, leaving 
une son, George S. His second wife was 
Lydia Childs, and she became the mother of 
three children, namely: Adelia C, who died 
at the age of thirty-two; Sophia, who became 
Mrs. Sly, and is now living in Athol, Mass. ; 
and Mary, who died aged eighteen. Smith 
Kelley's second wife died September 23, 1879. 

George S. Kelley, Mr. Kelley's father, was 
born in Greenwich, March 9, 1832. During 
his childhood he received injuries which crip- 
pled him for life; and when a young man he 
learned the trade of a shoemaker, which he 
followed as an occupation for some time. In 
1862 he moved to Greenwich Plains, where he 
purchased a small farm of four acres, and, re- 
linquishing his trade, devoted his time and 
attention to market gardening, in which he 
became very successful. He erected a sub- 
stantial residence and other buildings; and his 
barn, which he built in [890, is one of the 
finest in that part of the town. By judicious 
management he made his small property pay 
so well that he was able to invest in land in 
different parts of Greenwich, and this he de- 
voted to the cultivation of grain. He also 



engaged quite extensively in dairying. He 
continued to reside upon the original four-acre 
farm, however, and passed the remainder of 
his life there. He died May 21, 1892. In 
his religious views he was liberal, and in poli- 
tics he was a stanch Republican. His wife, 
Delia S. Edson before marriage, who was born 
in Hartford, Conn., August 4, 1837, was a 
daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Towne) Edson. 
Her father was a native of New Braintree, 
Mass. ; and his parents were Elijah and Nancy 
(Barr) Edson, the former of whom was also 
born there. Elijah Edson raised a family of 
eight children: Marshall, Sally, Luanda, 
Cordelia, Lorinda, Harvey, Samuel, and 
Nancy. Samuel Edson, father of Mrs. George 
S. Kelley, was a prosperous farmer, a Repub- 
lican in politics, and spent the greater part of 
his active life in Greenwich, where he died 
at the age of forty-three. His wife, Sarah 
Towne in her maidenhood, was a native of 
Greenwich ; and her parents, Jonathan and 
Betsey (Stratton) Towne, raised a family of 
six children, who were named: Jonathan, 
Truman, Eliza, Rufus, Orrin, and Sarah. 
Samuel and Sarah (Towne) Edson, Mrs. 
George S. Kelley's parents, raised a family of 
five children, as follows: Delia; Harriet A.; 
Julia M. ; Ella M. ; and Clarence P., who is 
no longer living. The children of Mr. and 
Mrs. George S. Kelley are as follows: Eugene 
G., the subject of this sketch; Lillian H., 
who was born February 3, 1859, and resides at 
home; and Nellie M., who was born June 2, 
1862, and is now employed in her brother's 
store. The mother is still living, and is en- 
gaged in carrying on the farm. 

Eugene G. Kelley was educated in the 
schools of his native town, and at an early age 
commenced to assist his father in tanning and 
gardening. He continued in that occupation 
until 1884, at which time he began a mercan- 



3° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tilt' business in Greenwich Plains. He now 
conducts a general country store, in which he- 
carries a large and varied stock of merchandise. 
His aim is to sell the best quality of goods at 
nominal prices. He has created for himself 
an enviable business reputation, and is a very 
successful merchant. He also does a large 
business in the buying and selling of country 
produce. He is actively interested in church i 
work. He is a Republican in politics, and in 
1884 was appointed Postmaster, a position 
which he has since filled with marked ability. 

On May 25, 1S81, Mr. Kelley was united in 
marriage to Carrie Lyman, his first wife. She 
was born in Granby, Mass., daughter of 
George J. Lyman, who resides in Hartford, 
Conn. She died November iS, 1892, leaving 
four children, as follows: Lewis S., who was 
born June 25, 1882; Ambrose, born April 17, 
1884; Marion, born January 22, 1886; and 
Raymond, born May 28, 1888. His second 
wife, whom he wedded June 6, 1894, was 
before marriage Cora E. Hunter. She was 
born in Waterbury, Conn., daughter of George 
L. and Susan E. (Wheeler) Hunter. 

George L. Hunter was bom in Prescott, 
Mass., February 9, 1847, son of William J. 
and Hannah (Shaw) Hunter. Mr. Hunter's 
grandfather, William Hunter, was an early 
settler in Prescott, where he became a prosper- 
ous farmer and resided for many years. His 
latter years were passed in Hardwick, Mass., 
where he died at an advanced age. He was 
the father of six children, two of whom are 
still living; namely, Mrs. Ann Root and Mrs. 
Fanny Smith, both residing in Greenwich. 

William J. Hunter, Mr. Hunter's father, 
was born in Prescott in 1 81 7, and was a life- 
long resident of that town. He was a success- 
ful farmer and stock dealer, making a specialty 
of importing Canadian horses. He was a well- 
known and energetic business man, and owned 



a good farm, which he cultivated with satisfac- 
tory results during the active period of his 
life. He was a Republican in politics. His 
wife, Hannah Shaw in maidenhood, who was 
born in Prescott, April 25, 1819, became the 
mother of five children, two of whom are now 
living, namely: Eliza, wife of Austin Jami- 
son, a resident of Prescott; and George L. , 
who is the youngest. 

George L. Hunter was educated in the 
schools of Prescott; and at the age of eighteen 
he began farming upon his own account, in 
which he continued for three years. He then 
went to Greenfield, where he engaged in the 
fish business for a time; and from there he 
went to Waterbury, Conn., where he remained 
for one year. He then returned to Prescott; 
and, after spending some time in farming, he 
was employed in a bucket factory in Swanzey, 
N.H., for seven years. He next resided for a 
short time in Natick, Mass. ; and in 1885 he 
returned to Prescott, where he has since lived. 
He engaged in selling tinware upon the road 
for a time; and in 18S9 he built a blacksmith 
shop, which he has since conducted with 
profit. He resides upon the old Hunter farm 
in Prescott, employing assistants to carry it 
on. He is also engaged in handling agricult- 
ural implements and standard fertilizers, and, 
in company with his son, conducts a general 
mercantile business in Prescott. 

Mr. Hunter was married in May, 1868, to 
Susan E. Wheeler, of Prescott, daughter of 
Thomas and Susan Wheeler, the former of 
whom was a prosperous farmer. Mrs. Hun- 
ter's parents are no longer living. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hunter have two children, namely: 
Charles H., who is in mercantile business in 
Prescott, and Cora E. , who is now Mrs. 
Eugene G. Kelley. Mr. Hunter is an active 
and able business man, and is now enjoying a 
well-earned prosperity. He is a Republican 




DAVID W. CRAFTS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



33 



in politics, and is at present serving as Tax 
Collector. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kelley possess a large circle 
of friends and acquaintances, and socially they 
are very popular in the community. 



B 



AVID WHITE CRAFTS, superin- 
tendent of the Northampton Gas 
Light Company, is an old and hon- 
ored resident of the city, having, with the 
exception of seven years spent in Eastern 
Massachusetts, lived here since 1834. For 
thirty-five years he has been connected with 
the gas works, being its President, a stock- 
holder, a Director, and the superintendent at 
the present time. He was born February 17, 
1821, in the town of Whately (in that portion 
known as the straits), Franklin County, his 
father, Chester Crafts, having been born in 
the same town in 1783. 

Mr. Crafts traces his ancestry to Lieutenant 
Griffin Crafts, who came to Massachusetts in 
1630, and was the first of the name to settle 
on American soil. He made his home in 
Roxbury. The line of descent is as follows: 
Griffin, John, Thomas, John, Thomas, Joseph, 
Chester, David White — the subject of the 
present sketch being of the eighth generation 
from the emigrant. The Genealogy of the 
Crafts family, in which the original name is 
spelled Craft or Kraft, an octavo volume of 
eight hundred and three pages, was compiled 
by James M. Crafts, of ( Grange, and William 
F. Crafts, of Boston Highlands, and printed in 
Northampton in 1893, Mr. David W. Crafts 
being the president of the association while 
the work was in preparation. 

Joseph Crafts was born November 6, 1745, 
in Hatfield, Mass., and died October 18, 
181 5. He served in the Revolutionary War, 
and afterward devoted his time to tilling the 



soil. He married Mrs. Roxana White, daugh- 
ter of Gideon and Mary (Parsons) Warner, her 
father also having been a Revolutionary sol- 
dier and in many of the important battles 
of that war. Grandfather Crafts settled in 
Whately, and was noted as being a great 
pedestrian. His last walking trip, taken when 
seventy years of age, a short time before his 
decease, was from Boston to Whately, a dis- 
tance of ninety-eight miles, which he accom- 
plished in two days. He and his wife bad a 
family of ten children, six sons and four 
daughters. 

Chester Crafts, son of Joseph, was reared to 
pioneer life, and assisted in improving a farm 
from the wilderness in which his parents 
located. In 1809, on March 16, he was united 
in marriage with Phila Jewett, a daughter of 
Reuben fewett, who moved from the eastern 
part of the State to Deerfield at an early day, 
and there reared his family. Nine children 
were born into their household, and of these 
five are now living: Josephus; Sylvia, widow 
of Alvin S. Field; David White; Roswell P., 
of Holyoke; and Albert W. , a merchant and 
farmer in Ashfield. The father died of con- 
sumption, September 27, 1827; and the mother 
subsequently married again, and lived to the 
ripe old age of eighty-nine years, dying July 
2, 1880, at the home of her son, David W. 

David W. Crafts attended school rather 
irregularly from the age of five years until six 
teen, his schooling ranging from six weeks to 
four months a year, in the typical district 
school-house. This rude log structure, with a 
huge fireplace occupying nearly the whole 
of one end of the building, the floors being 
of puncheon, the window-panes probably of 
greased paper, was in marked contrast to the 
well-equipped buildings of this day and gen- 
eration. David was but six years old when 
his father died, and the large family of chil- 



34 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



dren were scattered. He spent his early life 
in Whately, Deerfield, Montague, Holyoke, 
and Northampton. In 1843 he went to Bos- 
ton, where he stayed six years, being prosper- 
ously engaged as a hairdresser on Court 
Square; but the salt breezes from old ocean 
were trying to his lungs, which were never 
very strong. On his return to Northampton 
Mr. Crafts engaged in mercantile pursuit. 
He accepted his present position in 1861, as 
before stated, and has faithfully performed its 
duties since. 

On May 11, 1841, Mr. Crafts was married 
to Wealthy C. Munyan, a native of this city, 
daughter of Joseph Munyan, a carpenter of 
Boston and Northampton, and the father of 
twelve children, of whom two are now living, 
namely: Mrs. F. A. Willey, a widow residing 
in Pittsfield ; and Mrs. George Chapin, of this 
place. Three children were born of the union 
of Mr. and Mrs. Crafts, but they all with their 
mother have passed from their earthly home to 
the more perfect life beyond. The eldest, 
Edward C. Crafts, born in 1842, died in this 
city in 1874, leaving a widow and two sons, 
who have since lived with Mr. Crafts; Ger- 
trude Eliza died at the age of three years; and 
Louisa Elizabeth, an accomplished young lady, 
died at the age of twenty-four years. Mrs. 
Crafts died of heart failure on May 31, 1895, 
after an ideal wedded life of upward of half 
a century, she and her husband having cele- 
brated their silver wedding in 1866, and their 
golden wedding on the 11th of May, 1891. 
Although free from superstition, the old tradi- 
tion that Ma}' marriages are unfortunate has 
been brought to the notice of Mr. Crafts and 
his family, as three of the deaths therein have 
occurred during that month, his son's on May 
12, one daughter's May 13. Mr. Crafts has a 
pleasant home at No. 23 Crafts Avenue, where 
he settled in 1872. 



In Masonic circles Mr. Crafts is very active 
and prominent, having taken the thirty-second 
degree, and being Past Master of Jerusalem 
Lodge, Past High Priest of Northampton 
Royal Arch Chapter, Past King of the Massa- 
chusetts Grand Chapter, and a Past Eminent 
Commander of the Northampton Commandery, 
and Past Senior Grand Warden of the Grand 
Lodge of Massachusetts. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Red Men, 
belonging to the Daughters of Pocahontas, and 
a member of the Delphi Chapter of the Order 
of the Eastern Star, and is a Knight of Pyth- 
ias. Politically, he is an advocate of the prin- 
ciples of the Democratic party. For many 
years he has been a communicant of the Epis- 
copal church, and he has served much of the 
time as Vestryman. An excellent likeness of 
Mr. David W. Crafts will be noticed on the 
page opposite the beginning of this brief 
biography. 

OHN W. BRADBURN, a prosperous 
farmer of Worth ington, and a veteran 
of the Civil War, was born in Manches- 
ter, N.Y., April 14, 182S, son of James and 
Delancy (Smith) Bradburn. Mr. Bradburn's 
father was born in Massachusetts, of Irish an- 
cestry. He was a sailor in early manhood, 
but finally relinquished the sea and engaged in 
farming. He was twice married. The chil- 
dren of his first marriage are George and 
James; and those of his second marriage are : 
John W. , the subject of this sketch; and 
Anson W. , who is a machinist and resides in 
Preston, Minn. 

John W. Bradburn was educated in the dis- 
trict schools, and resided with his parents 
until he reached the age of nineteen. Having 
been trained to farming, he followed that occu- 
pation for a time. Then he became a sailor, 
and made voyages to Africa and the south seas. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



35 



Abandoning sea life, he served for some time 
as a brakeman on the railroad between Bridge- 
port and Winsted, Conn., and afterward 
engaged in various kinds of work. In Sep- 
tember, [862, he enlisted in Company F, 
Forty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers, which 
participated in the North Carolina campaign, 
and was present at the battles of Kingston, 
Whitehall, Goldsboro, and several minor en- 
gagements. While in Newbern he contracted 
a severe illness, which confined him to the 
hospital for two months, after which he was 
sent North, and received his discharge July 
29, 1863. Mr. Bradburn has constantly suf- 
ered from poor health since, a result of his 
war experience. When partially restored, he 
resumed work, taking employment in a wood- 
turning shop. After spending two years at 
this he came to Worthington, where he pur- 
chased a farm consisting of forty acres, and 
has since resided there, dividing his time be- 
tween agriculture and carpentering. He is a 
Republican in politics, while he is an unbe- 
liever in any of the fundamental doctrines of 
Christianity. 

On December 4, 185 1, Mr. Bradburn was 
united in marriage to Sarah C. Morse. She 
was born in Dalton, Mass., August 4, 1833, 
daughter of Alonzo and Betsey C. (Thayer) 
Morse. Mrs. Bradburn's parents were natives 
of Massachusetts. Her father was a harness- 
maker by trade. He died December 30, 1881, 
aged seventy-nine years; and his wife died in 
October, 1889, at the same age. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bradburn have had seven children, as fol- 
lows: Wallace J., who married Mary Etta 
Chandler, and resides in Chesterfield, Mass., 
where he is engaged as a basket-maker and a 
photographer; Martha Jane, who married 
Charles Markham, and resided in Pittsfield, 
Mass., died July 27, 1876; Marshall John, 
who is engaged in farming; F.lva Maria, who 



died July 7, 1879; Lura Amanda, who mar- 
ried Eugene Rhodes, and has six children; 
Flora Ellen, who wedded Alvin Buck, and 
died January 5, 1884; and Celia E., who died 
July 13, 1880. 

Mrs. Bradburn is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church Mr. Bradburn has ma 
special study of astronomy and navigation for 
the past forty years, much assisted by a fine 
telescope which he possesses. lie takes much 
pleasure in conversing upon these subjects,- 
regarding which he exhibits a remarkable 
knowledge. 




REDERICK NEWTON KNEELAND, 
Cashier of the First National Bank of 
Northampton, was born in that city on 
September 8, [850, son of Isaac Newton and 
Frances Maria (Strong) Kneeland. 

The Kneeland family were originally na- 
tives of Norway. They removed to Scotland 
in the tenth century; and in 1631 some of the 
descendants came to Salem, Mass., making 
the voyage, according to tradition, in a vessel 
laden with grain for the Pilgrims. Edward 
Kneeland, the great-great-grandfather of Fred- 
erick Newton Kneeland, was born about the 
year 1700. He removed from Boston to Roy- 
alton, \'t. ; and there, when he was about 
eighty years of age, he and his sons, Joseph 
and Edward, were captured In' the Indians 
Joseph was killed; while Edward, who was 
then but eight years of age, was adopted by 
the savages and roamed with them over their 
hunting grounds during the next ten years. 
He was finally purchased from the Indians by 
a French trader, who took an interest in the 
boy and desired to adopt him. Some time 
after, he had settled in Hadley and was en- 
gaged in farming. He married Miss Eliza- 
beth Peck, of Rehoboth, Mass. ; and they 
ed four sons and three (laughters, all of 



36 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



whom lived to marry and have families. His 
son Joseph Kneeland, who was also a farmer, 
married Miss Lydia Champion, of West 
Spring-field, who was horn on December 20, 
1 791. After her death, which occurred on 
November 4, 1828, he married her sister, Lora 
Champion. Of his children the living are: 
Mrs. Laurietta Russell, of Amherst, Mass. ; 
and Mrs. Josephine Stone, a widow, residing 
in Brooklyn, N.Y. His son, Isaac Newton 
Kneeland, died in i860, when but forty years 
of age. He was at one time a clothing mer- 
chant in Northampton, and also followed 
the business of photographer. His wife, for- 
merly Frances Maria Strong, to whom he 
was married on August 19, 1841, was born 
in Northampton on February 4, 1821, and 
was a daughter of Seth and Phoebe Strong. 
Seven children were born of their union, 
two sons and five daughters, of whom Frederick 
Newton Kneeland and two sisters reached adult 
life. 

Frederick N. Kneeland acquired a good 
practical education. At fifteen years of age 
he left the high school to enter a jeweller's 
store as clerk, after which he worked for a 
time in a clothing store. In March, 1869, 
he secured a position as clerk in the First 
National Bank ; and, beginning at the foot of 
the ladder, he has worked his way up, so that 
for the past eighteen years he has filled the 
position of Cashier with credit to himself and 
satisfaction to the patrons of the bank. He is 
also a man of literary ability, and has pub- 
lished a work on Northampton entitled, 
"Northampton, the Meadow City." On De- 
cember 9, 1879, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Adelaide Frances Dyer, who was 
born at South Abington, Mass., on December 
9, 1855. Their union has been blessed by 
three children, namely: Doris, born December 
6, 1889, who died when she was but seventeen 



months old ; Mary Frances, born January 2, 
1882; and Robert Strong, born April 26, 
1883. 

Mr. Kneeland is a faithful adherent of the 
Republican party. For over thirty years he 
has been a member of the Edwards Church, of 
which he has been Director and Treasurer. 
He also served as assistant superintendent of 
the Sunday-school for fifteen years, and has 
been superintendent for the past three years. 
In 18S2 he purchased the four-acre lot on 
Paradise Road, near Elm Street, and erected 
the substantial brick house which has been the 
family residence since January 1, 1883. 




RASTUS JAMES INGHAM, the enter- 
prising proprietor of the old Ingham 
homestead in Middlefield, was bom 
on June 10, 1828, son of Erastus John and 
Vesta (Dixon) Ingham. His paternal grand- 
parents, Erastus and Elizabeth (Hutchinson) 
Ingham, were both born in Connecticut. In 
the latter part of their married life they 
removed to Middlefield, Mass., and purchased 
the farm now owned by their grandson. The 
grandfather, besides being a successful agri- 
culturist, devoted considerable attention to 
public affairs, and took an active interest 
in politics. He was well known and quite 
prominent, serving in various offices, among 
which may be mentioned that of Justice of 
the Peace and Representative to the State 
legislature. 

Mr. Ingham's father was about twenty years 
of age when his parents settled in Middlefield. 
He, however, remained with them, helping in 
the cultivation of the farm. Upon his father's 
death he purchased the homestead and lived 
there for the remainder of his life. He con- 
fined his attention chiefly to his farm work, 
and was quite successful in his management. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



37 



His wife, Vesta Dixon, bore him six children, 
as follows: Milton, who married Miss Mileta 
Ballou, both deceased ; Samuel, who married 
Miss Clarissa Alderman, both also deceased; 
Maria and Mary (twins), respectively married 
to Romeo Alderman and Walter Pease; An- 
drew, who died at fourteen years of age; and 
Erastus James. All the children were edu- 
cated in a select school. The father was a 
Republican and an active politician. Both 
parents were influential members of the Con- 
gregational church, the father serving as Trus- 
tee and always taking a keen interest in the- 
work of the organization. 

Erastus James Ingham lived with his par- 
ents until their death, caring for them in their 
old age. He then purchased the old home- 
stead, and has since carried on general hus- 
bandry, while devoting considerable attention to 
dairying. On February 4, 1850, his marriage 
with Miss Julia Pease was performed. She 
was born in March, 1830, daughter of Daniel 
Pease, who was among the earliest settlers oi 
Hampshire County. She has borne her hus- 
band four daughters, as follows: Alida, a 
successful teacher, who died at seventeen 
years of age ; Lillie, the wife of Wayland I*'. 
Smith, a prosperous farmer residing in West 
Springfield, Mass. ; Elnora, who died aged 
one year and nine months; and Nora, who 
married J. T. Bryan, a successful farmer resid- 
ing in Middle-field. 

Mr. Ingham is actively interested in politi- 
cal matters and a loyal supporter of the Re- 
publican party. Appreciating his zeal for the 
welfare of the town, the citizens have from 
time to time elected him to various offices of 
trust and responsibility. For several years 
he has served as Selectman. He and his 
family are communicants .it the Congrega- 
tional church, in which they are prominent 
workers. 




RIVILLF W. PROUTY, a well- 
known mechanic of North Hadley 
and a veteran of the Civil War, was 
born in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 
October 5, 1844, and is a son of A. Warren 
and Hannah H. (Livermore) Prouty. Mr. 
Prouty's father was a native of Spencer, Mass., 
and followed the occupations of farmer and 
shoemaker in his native town until i860, when 
lie purchased in New Salem a farm which lie 
personally conducted for several years. After 
his wife died, he relinquished active labor, and 
resided with his children in Wendell, Mass., 
until his death. His wife, who was a native 
of Paxton, Mass., became the mother of eleven 
children, named as follows: Cleora D., Ori- 
ville W., Ariel H., Viola M., Oriana T., 
Halsey H., Helen A., Clifford H., Chester 
W. , Marion, and Eva. 

Oriville \\". Prouty was educated in the pub- 
lic schools, and at the age of fifteen was first 
employed in farming. He later engaged in 
shoemaking, an occupation which he followed 
until 1862, when he enlisted in the Thirty- 
fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. lie 
participated in fifteen different engagements, 
some of them the most important of the Civil 
War, and received his discharge in Readville, 
Mass., July 6, 1865. Mr. Prouty then re 
sumed attendance at a school in Poughkeepsie, 
X.Y., hut was unable to continue owing to 
his feeble health and he returned to his home. 
After regaining his health he followed vari- 
ous occupations until the spring of 1867, when 
he went to Hadley, and for tin succeeding two 
years was employed in a carriage shop. After 
this he resided lor one year in Clarendon, \'t.. 
and then went to Pennington, Yt., where he 
engaged in manufacturing chairs, and became 
the owner of some property, which was later 
destroved by lire. He subsequently returned 
to. Hadlev, and after working again in a car- 



3« 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



riage shop until 1873, came to North Hadley, 
where he opened a wagon repair shop upon his 
own account. In 1876 fire again swept his 
property away; but he rebuilt and resumed the 
repairing business, which he continued until 
visited some ten years later by a third confla- 
gration. He then went to work in a manufac- 
tory of broom-maker's tools. He is at present 
a carpenter and millwright. 

Air. Proutv is a Republican in politics, and 
has filled with marked ability several offices of 
public trust. Since 1888 he has been elected 
to the Board of Selectmen, and he has been 
chairman of that body since 1893. He was 
appointed Justice of the Peace in May, 1891, 
has served as Constable two years, and was a 
Trustee of the Smith Charities of Northamp- 
ton for a like period. 

On June 14, 1871, Mr. Prouty was united 
in marriage to Martha A. Plurd, of Hadley, 
daughter of Thomas D. and Zilpha (Crosier) 
Hurd, both of whom are now dead. Mr. and 
Mrs. Prouty are members of the Congrega- 
tional church, and take an active interest in 
church work. Mr. Prouty is a Comrade of 
E. M. Stanton Post, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, of Amherst. He was chairman of the 
executive committee which perfected the ar- 
rangements for the Hooker reunion in Had- 
ley, on May 7, 1895 ; and he delivered the ad- 
dress of welcome on that occasion. 



LTrANCIS LOOMIS, a lifelong resident 
P^ and a thrifty and enterprising farmer of 
Williamsburg, Mass., was born on the 
place that he now owns, April 6, 1833. He 
is son of William and Lucinda (Thayer) 
Loomis, and grandson of Jonathan and Zilpha 
(Field) Loomis. 

Grandfather Loomis was a resident farmer 
of Whately, Mass. He served in the Revo- 



lutionary War, and during the last years of 
his life was in receipt of a pension from the 
government. He and his wife, Zilpha Field, 
were the parents of five children: Jonathan, 
Leonard, Luther, Sally, and William. Will- 
iam Loomis, father of Francis, was born in 
Whately. In his early manhood he learned 
the trade of a carpenter and bridge builder; 
and examples of his work may now be seen in 
Chicopee Falls, Miller's Falls, and West 
Springfield, Mass. He first established a 
home for himself in Whately; but about the 
year 1822 he purchased in Williamsburg a 
farm of eighty acres, on which he erected new 
barns, besides remodelling the house. While 
he supervised the work of his farm, his atten- 
tion was chiefly devoted to his trade, at which 
he met with good success. He was a com- 
municant of the Congregational church and 
in political affiliation a Whig. He died in 
1853, at the age of sixty-four years. His first 
marriage was to Miss Mary Waite, who died, 
leaving him with three children; namely, 
Luther, Maria, and Jane. His second and 
last union was with Miss Lucinda Thayer, 
who died in 1872, at seventy-seven years of 
age, leaving five children: Rebecca, Mary, 
Leonard, Francis, and Elizabeth. His son 
Luther, now dead, kept the Haydenville 
House, and had two children, one of whom 
survives. 

Francis Loomis remained with his parents 
and cared for them during their old age. At 
their decease he purchased the farm, which 
then had very little cultivated land. Having 
cleared away the bushes, timber, and stone 
with which it was encumbered, he has in it 
now one of the best-cared-for farms in the 
town. He has also set out a nice variety of 
fruit-trees, and made improvements in the 
house and barns. Besides he carries on gen- 
eral farming, raising good crops of grain and 




-.•<'** 




SAMUEL L. PARSONS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tobacco; and he keeps a dairy of choice cows. 
On June i, 1853, he was joined in marriage 
with Miss Sarah Hillman, a daughter of John 
Hillman, of Charlemont; and they have 
reared four of the six children born of their 
union. The two who died in childhood were 
Wilbur and Hattie, and the others are: 
Henry, born September 23, 1854; David C, 
who married Miss Fanny Rhood, lives in 
Haydenville, and has two children, Ethel and 
Charles; George F., married to Miss Helen 
Rivard, having one child, Edward F., and 
residing at home; ami William G., born 
October 16, 1877, also living at home. Mr. 
Loomis casts his vote with the Republican 
party. He is a member of Hampshire Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M. ; and he and his wife and 
family are active and influential members of 
the Congregational church. 




AMUEL L. PARSONS, whose por- 
trait appears on the adjoining page, 
is the owner of a fine agricult- 
ural estate in Northampton, and has long 
been a conspicuous factor of the farming com- 
munity, but is now, owing to ill health, living 
somewhat retired from active pursuits. He is 
the worthy representative of one of the very 
earliest pioneer families of this part of Hamp- 
shire County, the first birth recorded in North- 
ampton being that of Ebenezer Parsons, who 
was born May 1, 1655, and was the fifth child 
of Joseph and Alary (Bliss) Parsons. This 
couple were wedded in November, 1646, at 
Hartford, Conn. They are further mentioned 
elsewhere in these pages in connection with 
others of their name and lineage. Their 
eldest son bore the name of Joseph, and was 
known as "Esquire Joseph," or Judge Par- 
sons, the father being "Cornet Joseph." 

l'hineas Parsons, born January 9, 1750, .1 



great-grandson of Esquire Joseph and Eliza- 
beth (Strong) Parsons — as we learn from the 
Rev. Solomon Clark's interesting work on 
"Northampton Antiquities, Historicals, and 
Graduates" — was the grandfather of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, [n 1772 l'hineas Parsons 
married Mary Baker, a daughter of Samuel 
and Sarah (Lanckton) Baker, settling on the 
estate conveyed to him by his father-in-law, 
his house standing within a few rods of what 
is now 58 West Street, and here engaged in 
genera] farming until his death, in 1825. 
He and his wife reared three daughters and 
four sons, of whom Samuel, born September 
r 7> '793' was the youngest. 

Samuel Parsons became one of the leading 

o 

farmers of this part of the county. He was a 
man of good judgment and sterling integrity, 
and prominent in public affairs, serving as 
Selectman several years, and as a Representa- 
tive in the General Court in 1832 and 1833. 
His wife, to whom he was united November 
20, 1821, was Caroline Russell, a native of 
this town. The_\- became the parents of eight 
children, all of whom, with the exception of 
Sydenham Clark Parsons, formerly a druggist 
in Northampton, are now living, the father's 
namesake being the eldest child. 

Samuel L. Parsons was born November 20, 
1823, on the old Parsons homestead, above 
mentioned, and was there reared and educated. 
He remained beneath the parental roof-tree 
until his marriage, gaining a practical knowl- 
edge of various branches of agriculture. lie 
inherited a portion of his father's estate, and 
now owns a valuable farm of two hundred 
acres, one of the very best in the vicinity. 
He has here carried on general farming with 
eminent success, raising about a thousand 
bushels of corn annually on the uplands; and 
on the bottom lands he cuts about two hun- 
dred tons ol ha\ each season. Hi"' makes a 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



specialty of fattening cattle, keeping twenty 
or more, and turns to good account each acre 
of his fertile land. 

On November 20, 1844, Mr. Parsons was 
united in wedlock with Sarah A. Kingsley, a 
daughter of Edwin and Mary B. Kingsley, of 
Northampton, the place of her birth being the 
site now occupied by the Academy of Music. 
Of this union two children have been born: 
a daughter, Harriet; and a son, Samuel Baker 
Parsons. Harriet married Hubbard M. Ab- 
bott, present Register of Probate for Hamp- 
shire County; and they have two sons and a 
daughter, Edwin Kingsley Abbott being a 
clerk in the Northampton Bank, and James 
Trumbull and Harriet P. being yet in school. 
Samuel Baker Parsons, who resides near his 
parents, married Ella B. Gorham, and suc- 
ceeds his father in business. An active mem- 
ber of the Republican party in politics, ever 
deeply interested in the public weal, Mr. 
Parsons has served as Selectman eight years; 
and during two terms he represented his dis- 
trict in the State legislature. He is a gen- 
tleman of pleasing address, his cordiality 
inviting acquaintance, and his intelligence 
and evident sincerity winning respect and 
confidence. 




FRANKLIN G. MORRIS, a 
man of prominence in the educa- 
5 » tional, business, and religious cir- 
cles of Northampton, was born in East Salis- 
bury, Essex County, November 19, 1841, 
being a son of John and Eliza (Brown) Mor- 
ris. He is descended from English and Ger- 
man ancestry, distinguished on both sides for 
vitality and longevity. His maternal grand- 
mother was a member of the Old South 
Church of Boston from the time when she was 
eight years old to the date of her death, when 
she had nearly completed a century. 



John Morris was a seaman, and most of his 
sons followed in his footsteps in their liking 
for a sea life. He belonged to the L T nited 
States Navy, and at the time of his death, in 
January, 1876, was the oldest boatswain in the 
service, being then in the ninety-first year of 
his age. He had a very strong and rugged 
constitution. When eighty-nine years old, 
he one day remarked that, had he taken proper 
care of himself, he might live to a good old 
age. He was twice married, rearing twelve 
children by both unions. His second wife, 
mother of the Rev. Mr. Morris, was Mrs. 
Eliza Brown, ncc Jennison, who bore him four 
sons and one daughter, Franklin G. being the 
fourth child. Of the remaining children 
Charles Henry was the only one that grew to 
maturity. He was lost at sea in 1864, the 
craft on which he sailed never having been 
heard from after leaving port. One of his 
elder sons, George, a half-brother of Franklin, 
also found a watery grave, having been sail- 
maker's mate on board the ''Cumberland," 
which went clown in the fight with the " Mer- 
rimac," March 8, 1862. The mother died very 
suddenly of heart disease in 1869, aged sev- 
enty years. The father buried his wife and 
eleven of his twelve children before he, too, 
passed to his final reward. This occurred at 
the home of his surviving son in Watertown, 
Mass. 

Franklin G. Morris was reared to manhood 
in Ipswich, Mass., where his parents lived 
twenty-two years, and where the remains of 
both now rest in the beautiful cemetery. 
After concluding his studies at the public 
schools, he attended the Wilbraham Academy, 
from which he was graduated in 1861. He 
was one of the first volunteers that responded 
to the first call for three months' men made at 
the beginning of the Civil War, but he did 
not go to the front. Mr. Morris is of a deeply 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



13 



religious nature, the fundamental principles 
of Christianity having been instilled into his 
heart by his honored parents; and at the early 
age of seventeen years he began teaching and 
preaching the Methodist doctrine. For seven- 
teen years he was a member of the New Eng- 
land Conference and a most devoted and effi- 
cient pastor of the ten churches over which he- 
has presided. Among them was the Saratoga 
Street Church of East Boston. In 1882 he 
was located in Easthampton. In 1876 the de- 
gree of A.M. was conferred on him by the 
Wesleyan University of Middletown, Conn. 
Beginning to study shorthand in 1867, Mr. 
Morris is now an expert in the art, and for 
the past seven years has been the official ste- 
nographer of Hampden County. He was one 
of the four reporters of the General Confer- 
ence in 1888; and he has since reported live 
murder trials, accomplishing, with the aid of 
his staff of writers, a plain hand transcript of 
each day's proceedings by the ensuing night. 
Mr. Morris was first married November 24, 
1864, to Lucy A. Morley, who died three 
years later, leaving two children: Emma, a 
teacher in the public schools; and Charles 
Edward, who died in 1887, aged twenty years. 
In 1869 Mr. Morris was again united in 
marriage with Miss Georgia A. Waterhouse, 
a native of Lynn, Mass. He was a member 
of the State legislature, representing the dis- 
trict of Watertown in 1875, where he was then 
located. At the same time he had charge of 
a church, and was equal to the undertaking. 
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in 
which his late father was a Master Mason. 
He is a very influential and prominent 
brother, having united with the organization 
thirty years ago. He has taken the Scottish 
rite degrees, has been at the head of the 
Royal Arch degree in his Chapter, and has 
the distinction of being one of the three 




Grand Chaplains of the Massachusetts Gi 
Chapter. 

!■ !■! 

ENJAMIN C. BRAINARD, chair- 
man of the Board of Selectmen of 
South Had ley Falls, is a son of 
Benjamin C. and Eunice 1'. (Ashley) Brain- 
ard, and was horn in that town, May [9, 
1 84 1. The father was a native of South I lad- 
lev Falls, and followed the trade of a black- 
smith for several years. He established a 
factory for the manufacture of agricultural 
tools at Chicopee, Mass., and personally con- 
ducted it for fifteen years. He then engaged 
in the <rrocerv business as a member of the 
firm of Day & Brainard. After carrying this 
on for some time, he retired from the firm, 
and was appointed Postmaster, a position 
which he held until two years before his 
death, which occurred November 19, 1866. 
He was a representative man of South Hadley 
Falls, and occupied a prominent position in 
the community. His wife, who was born in 
West Springfield, Mass., became the mother 
of four children, as follows: Joseph, who died 
in infancy; Ann S., who married A. VV. Fay, 
of Barre, Mass., ami now resides in South 
Deerhcld: Benjamin C, the subject of this 
sketch; and Mary J., principal of the Bridge- 
Street School in Holyoke. She died Decem- 
ber 27, 1892. 

Benjamin C. Brainard had received a : 
common-school education at the age of four- 
teen, when he became errand boy in the office 
of the Glasgow Company in Smith Hadley 
Falls. He gradually worked his way up from 
one position to another until he was made 
superintendent and finally general agent of 
the company. He then went to New Jersey, 
where he was placed i 1 tin- Wash- 

ington Mills, the largest enterprise of its kind 
in that State. He remained there for several 



44 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



years, and then returned in 1890 to South 
Hadley Falls, where he has since resided. 
He is widely known and is in much demand 
as an expert in all matters pertaining to cot- 
ton-mills and their machinery. Mr. Brainard 
is a Republican in politics, and has served 
with distinction in various positions of public 
trust. He was first elected a Selectman in 
1884. He has also been Chief Engineer of 
the fire department, a member of the School 
Board, for several years a Water Commis- 
sioner, Treasurer of the Water Board, and in 
1S93 was Representative of his district in the 
legislature, when he served as a member of 
the Committee upon Election Laws. Among 
the non-political offices he has held were those 
of Treasurer of the Cemetery Association and 
Vice-President of the Mechanics Savings 
Bank of Holyoke. He is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, and was one of the organ- 
izers of the Lodge in South Hadley Falls. 

In 1868 Mr. Brainard was united in mar- 
riage to Sarah Abbie Bickford, of Saco, Me. 
Her parents, now deceased, were: Thomas 
Bickford, a native of Massachusetts; and 
Lydia (Bean) Bickford, who was born in New 
Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Brainard have 
one daughter, Florence A., who has received 
a liberal education, and is now assistant prin- 
cipal of the South Hadley Falls High School. 
Mr. Brainard is a generous contributor to 
movements designed for the benefit of his na- 
tive town. His present position of prosperity 
can be justly credited to his own energy and 
industry. 

YJ2)TORACE H. VAUGHN is a prosperous 
r^-| farmer of Greenwich. He was born 

-L 9 ^ in Prescott, Mass., November 1 5, 

1832, and is a son of Josiah and Susan (Shaw) 
Vaughn. His grandfather, Nathan Vaughn, 
a native of Middleboro, Mass., was an early 



settler in Prescott. He was a sturdy pioneer 
and a successful farmer, and lived to the age 
of eighty years. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Mary Fry, bore him nine children, 
all of whom became heads of families. She 
also attained an advanced age before she died. 
Both husband and wife were members of the 
Baptist church. 

Josiah Vaughn, Mr. Vaughn's father, was 
born in the place now called Prescott, October 
15, 1791. He was a Baptist minister during 
his early manhood, but later engaged in agri- 
culture. He owned a farm of one hundred 
acres in Prescott, which he managed success- 
fully. An industrious man and an earnest 
Christian worker, he was much respected by 
his neighbors. He was a member of the 
Masonic Order for over forty years, and 
reached a high degree in the fraternity. His 
wife, Susan (Shaw) Vaughn, who was born in 
Middleboro, Mass., September 2, 1791, made 
him the father of eleven children, of whom 
three are living, namely: Chloe F., who is 
now Mrs. Russell, of Athol, Mass.; Hollis, 
a resident of Wendell; and Horace H., the 
subject of this sketch, who is the youngest. 
The others were: Josiah N., Susan L., 
Nathan, Lois, Mary, John W., Rhoda P., and 
Laura, all of whom, except the last two, 
reached maturity before they died. Both 
parents lived to the age of seventy-four years, 
and but four hours intervened between their 
deaths. 

Horace H. Vaughn passed his boyhood and 
youth in Prescott, and was brought up to a 
practical knowledge of farming. He com- 
menced his education in the district schools. 
After completing his studies at the New 
Salem Academy, he taught school for some 
time. In April, 1861, he settled in Green- 
wich, where, with the exception of one year, 
he has since resided. He purchased his pres- 



\ 




JOSEPH W. GREEN, Jr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIF.W 



47 



ent farm of one hundred and nine acres in 
1869, and for the past twenty-six years has 
conducted general farming, making a specialty 
of raising poultry, with satisfactory results. 
He has worked industriously and energeti- 
cally, and his present prosperity is fully mer- 
ited. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and 
he has been prominent in the order of Good 
Templars. 

On February 5, 1861, Mr. Vaughn was 
united in marriage to Lydia Locke. She was 
born in Wendell, Mass., January 11, 1837. 
Her parents were Ephraim and Nancy Locke. 
The father was a native of Wendell; and the 
mother was born in Dover, Vt. Ephraim 
.Locke followed agriculture as an occupation 
during his entire life, and was known as a 
prosperous farmer and an upright citizen. 
He lived to the age of seventy-one years, and 
his wife to the age of seventy-two. 

Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn have one daughter, 
Jennie L., who was born in Greenwich, Janu- 
ary 9, 1862. She married Henry I. Glazier, 
and they reside with Mr. Vaughn. Mr. 
Glazier is engaged in lumbering in connection 
with farming, and is well known as an active 
and industrious man. Mr. and Mrs. Glazier 
have three children; namely, Leta Mabel, 
Elsie L., and Earl H. 

Mr. Vaughn and his wife are active mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
has been superintendent and teacher of the 
Sunday-school for forty years, and is at the 
present time one of the Stewards. 



"OSEPH W. GREEN, Jr., of whom a 
portrait is seen on the opposite page, 
is the Treasurer of the Glendale Lias- 
tic Fabric Company at Easthampton and a 
well-known and influential businessman. He 
was born in the quaint old town of Marble- 



head, Mass., in 1S4S, son of Joseph W. and 
Abbie T. (Girdler) Green, the former of 
whom was likewise a native of that place, 

born in 1S23. 

His grandfather, who first bore the name 
of Joseph W. Green, was born in Marblehead 
in 1795. Though hardly more than a bov at 
the time of the War of 181 2, he, nevertheless, 
bore his share in that struggle. He became a 
fish merchant and exporter, and did quite an 
extensive business both in Marblehead and in 
Boston. Alive to the commercial interests of 
his town and the benefits to be derived from 
a local banking institution, he was one of the 
leaders in the founding of the National Grand 
Bank at Marblehead. He was interested in 
governmental affairs, and was at one time a 
member of the State legislature. He married 
Miss Hannah Goss, and they reared twelve of 
the fourteen children that were born of their 
union — five sons and seven daughters. Five 
are now living, namely: Joseph W. ; Charles 
W., who is a merchant in Boston; Sarah L., 
the wife of Henry R. Chadbourne, of Last 
Watertown, Mass. ; Charlotte, who is unmar- 
ried, and also resides at East Watertown; and 
Harriet G., the widow of Thomas Courtis, 
living at Salem, Mass. Their father attained 
the goodly age of eighty-four years, and their 
mother lived to be eight}-. 

Joseph W. Green, second, was an apt 
scholar, and pursued his studies at the schools 
in Marblehead and in the academy at Andover, 
qualifying himself for a teacher. When the 
news came of the discovery of gold in Califor- 
nia, being among those who were filled with ,1 
desire to try their fortunes in that El Dorado, 
he went thither with the forty-niners; and his 
life since has been one of varied experiences 
and fortunes. At the present time he resides 
in Ranier, Ore., whither he went in 1880, 
and in recent years has been successfully en- 



4 8 



BIOGRAPHTCAL REVIEW 



gaged in teaching. He married Abbie Gird- 
ler, a daughter of Lewis Girdler and Hannah 
Turner Girdler, the former of whom was a 
merchantman. Of the three children born to 
them one son, Lewis G. Green, who was an 
accountant, and unmarried, died in 1876, at 
twenty -eight years of age. The living are: 
Ellen T. Green, who was educated in Marble- 
head, where she is now a successful teacher; 
and Joseph W. Green, Jr., the subject of the 
present sketch. 

Joseph W. Green, Jr., received his educa- 
tion at Marblehead and in Boston, graduating 
from the Eliot School in that city in the class 
of 1862, being then but fourteen years of age. 
He was employed at his grandfather's place of 
business in Boston for about four years, work- 
ing there during his vacations until he left 
school; and at eighteen years of age he se- 
cured a position with the house of Nichols & 
Farnsworth, dealers in shoe manufacturers' 
goods, with whom he remained for twelve 
years. In the winter of 1878 he came to 
Easthampton, where he entered the position 
he now holds. Treasurer and Manager of the 
Glendale Elastic Fabric Company, which was 
established in 1863 by Samuel Williston, 
H. G. Knight, and E. H. Sawyer. Mr. 
Green is also interested in the Easthampton 
Rubber Thread Company and the Nashawon- 
nock Manufacturing Company. 

lie was married on September 30, 1889, to 
Mrs. Hannah C. Richmond, iicc Courtis, a 
daughter of Stacey and Hannah (Green) Cour- 
tis. Her first husband, Mr. James H. C. 
Richmond, died in the prime of life, leaving 
her with five children, as follows: Fred C. 
Richmond, who resides at Schullsburg, Wis., 
where he is engaged in zinc and lead mining; 
Stacey Courtis Richmond, who is engaged in 
the banking business with Spencer, Trask & 
Co. of New York City; and James H. C. 



Richmond and Catherine C. Richmond, who 
are twins. The former, who is a stock clerk 
and accountant with the Glendale Fabric 
Company, was educated at New Bedford and 
Providence, and resides at home; and the lat- 
ter, who was educated at New Bedford, Mass., 
Providence, R.I., and Boston, Mass., is an 
accomplished kindergarten teacher at Boston, 
making a success of her chosen vocation. 
Clifford Ambrose Richmond, the youngest 
child, was educated at New Bedford, Mass., 
Schullsburg, Wis., and Easthampton, Mass., 
and is a weaver in the Glendale Fabric Com- 
pany, and is a man of keen intellectual 
powers. 

The Republican party counts Mr. Green 
among its faithful and loyal adherents. He- 
has considerable musical talent, and for 
many years has been actively interested in 
church choirs and many musical organizations. 
About 1890 he purchased the pleasant resi- 
dence on Park Street which he and his family 
have since occupied. 




L)\VARD B. NIMS, M.D., who has 
charge of the Hospital for the Insane 
at Northampton, Mass., is a native 
of New Hampshire, born April 20, 1838, in 
Sullivan, Cheshire County, son of Seth and 
Maria (Frost) Nims. 

Among the early settlers of Deerfield, in 
this county, we find the name of Godfrey 
Nims. The house he built and subsequently 
lived in still stands at the corner of Main 
and Academy Streets. It has but recently 
passed out of the Nims family, after an owner- 
ship of one hundred and eighty years. God- 
frey Nims was prominent among the pioneers 
of the town, and his name is engraved on the 
memorial tablet in the new hall. Some of his 
descendants settled in New Hampshire, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIIAV 



V) 



became leading citizens of that State. One 
of them, David Nims, great-great-uncle of 
the subject of this sketch, was the first Town 
Clerk of Keene, N.H. The paternal grand- 
father, also named David, was horn in Rox- 
bury, N.H., about 1776, and died in 18 14. 
He married Abigail Carter, who survived him, 
living to the venerable age of fourscore years. 
She bore her husband eight children — four 
sons and four daughters — all of whom, with 
one exception, married, and reared families. 
One of the sons, Seth, having been brought 
up a farmer, continued in that occupation after 
reaching manhood. He entered into matri- 
mony with Maria Frost, whose parents were 
esteemed members of the farming community 
of Sullivan. There were born of the union 
three children, namely : Edward B. ; Ellen E., 
wife of Henry C. Rawson, of Sullivan; and 
Augustus F., of the same town. The mother 
died in October, 1865, aged fifty-eight years. 
The father subsequently married Hannah 
Dodge, with whom he is still living in his 
New Hampshire home, hale and vigorous yet, 
although ninety-two years old. 

Dr. Nims was reared on the home farm 
until sixteen years old, when he was sent to 
the Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, 
N.H., to be fitted for college. He made good 
use of the opportunities here. He was ad- 
mitted to Williams College in 1858, and grad- 
uated four years later. He subsequently 
entered the medical department of the Univer- 
sity of Vermont at Burlington. In May, 1864, 
he accepted an appointment as Assistant Sur- 
geon of the First Vermont Cavalry, and was 
in active service in the Civil War under Gen- 
eral Sheridan until May, [865, when he was 
prostrated with fever. After this his regi- 
ment was distributed along the Canadian 
frontier; and he was mustered out of .service 
August 9, 1865. Dr. Nims then continued 



his medical studies, taking a full course of 
lectures at the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons in New York City, and received his 
degree at the Vermont University. After 
practising his profession for a short time, he 
was appointed Assistant Physician in the 
Vermont State Asylum at Brattleboro. He 
filled this position from February, 1866, until 
December, [868, when he accepted that of 
Assistant Physician in the Northampton Asy- 
lum, under Dr. Pliny Earl. He was ap- 
pointed Head Physician, his present office. 
October 21, 1S85, when Dr. Earl was retired. 
He is assisted in his onerous duties by Dr. 
J. A. Houston, Dr. C. M. Holmes, and Dr. 
Jane R. Baker, all of whom stand high in the 
medical fraternity. The hospital receives 
about two hundred patients annually, who 
come from the counties of Hampden, Hamp- 
shire, Franklin, anil Berkshire. The build- 
ing is of brick, very handsome and capacious, 
four stories high, with a frontage of seven 
hundred and twelve feet, and is delightfully 
located, on an eminence overlooking the sur- 
rounding country. 

On September 5, 1S67, Dr. Edward B. 
Nims was united in marriage with I^lizabeth 
E. Delano, of Ticonderoga, N.Y., being the 
daughter of Asa P. Delano. The only child 
born of their union, a son, named Edward 
Earl Nims, died at this institution, Jul)- 26, 
1877, at the age of seven years. 



AMES D. BARNES, a progressive 
farmer of Prescott, born in Pelham, 
Mass., August 27. 1827, was son of 
Dwight and Violet (Mellen) Barnes. Mr. 
Barnes's great-grandfather, Fli Barnes, was 
an early settler of Hardwick, Mass., where he 
became a prosperous farmer and resided for 
the remainder of his life. lie raised a family 



5° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of nine children, respectively named : Dwight, 
Harvey, Horace, Lucius, Eli, Lyman, Sophia, 
Minda, and Fanny. Of these the only one 
now living is Lucius Barnes, a resident of 
Ware, Mass. 

Dwight Barnes, father of Mr. Barnes, was 
born in Hardwick. He first settled in Bel- 
chertown, and later in Pelham, where he owned 
and successfully managed a good farm. He 
possessed a strong constitution, was a tireless 
worker, a Democrat in politics, and lived to 
the age of sixty-four years. His farm is now 
occupied by Arthur Barnes. His first wife, 
Violet (Mellen) Barnes, died at the age of 
thirty years. His second wife was Lois King- 
field, who passed her declining years at the 
home of James D. Barnes. Mr. Barnes was 
the father of three children, as follows: James 
D., the subject of this sketch; Estus H., who 
died aged sixty-five; and Joseph M., a resi- 
dent of West Ware. 

James D. Barnes received his education in 
the schools of Pelham, and at an early age 
commenced life as a farm boy, receiving for 
wages thirteen dollars per month. He con- 
tinued to work as an assistant upon different 
farms until i860, when he purchased the prop- 
erty on which he now resides. The farm, 
situated upon high ground, overlooking a 
considerable portion of the surrounding coun- 
try, is conducted upon modern principles. 
Its appearance, together with the excellent 
condition of the buildings, tells the sterling 
qualities of the owner. He has no specialty; 
but, while conducting general farming opera- 
tions, he is seldom found without some fine 
cattle. He is a Democrat in politics, and 
has served the town with ability for two terms 
each as Selectman, Assessor, Overseer of the 
Poor, and Road Commissioner. He is a 
Master Mason and a member of Bethel Lodge. 

On November 25, 1858, Mr. Barnes was 



united in marriage to Mary J. Upton. She 
was born in Prescott, and was a daughter of 
Otis and Minerva (Shaw) Upton. Both par- 
ents were natives of Prescott. The father's 
occupation was that of stone mason, and he 
was over eighty when he died. Mr. and Mrs. 
Barnes have had five children, namely: Addie 
Leola, who died at the age of eighteen; 
Eugene and Herbert W., who are in the meat 
business in Prescott; Allie L. and Clarence, 
who are engaged in farming. Mr. Barnes is 
highly esteemed by his fellow-townsmen, and 
his sons are well and favorably known in the 
community as bright and active business men. 



YgTENRY A. PARSONS, a successful 
f^H business man at Westhampton, where 

-L> 9 V, , his pleasant and accommodating 

disposition makes him a favorite with his fel- 
low-townsmen, was born in Easthampton, 
March 16, 1856. His father, Joseph Parsons, 
a lifelong resident of Easthampton, is a 
thriving farmer and an influential citizen. 
He is a leader in public affairs, and has 
served as Selectman for several years. He 
married Cecilia Clark, also a native of East- 
hampton, and they became the parents of eight 
children, three of whom died; namely, Sarah, 
Louisa, and Julius. The surviving children 
are: Joseph E., a contractor in Meriden, 
Conn.; Henry A., the subject of this sketch; 
Mary C, wife of L. S. Janes, who is engaged 
in the dairy business at Easthampton ; Anna, 
wife of F. E. Searle, of Easthampton; and 
Carrie M., a teacher in Northampton. 

Henry A. Parsons was reared and educated 
in the place of his nativity, and assisted on 
the home farm until he was thirty years of 
age, when he entered upon a mercantile ca- 
reer. Coming to Westhampton in 1887, he 
bought his present store, and has since car- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5i 



ried on a flourishing business in general mer- 
chandise. For a time he was Assistant 
Postmaster in this village. Being an ener- 
getic and enterprising man and honest and 
upright in his dealings, Mr. Parsons has built 
up a large trade in the village and surround- 
ings. In politics he affiliates with the Re- 
publicans, while taking an active and intelli- 
gent interest in promoting the general welfare. 
He is a charter member of the Knights of 
Honor, and belongs to Hope Lodge, No. 
1184. 

Mr. Parsons was united in marriage Decem- 
ber 12, 1878, to Miss M. Jennie Keene, who 
was born in England, being a daughter of 
James Keene, a leading merchant of East- 
hampton, where he is still carrying on a suc- 
cessful business. Three children have been 
born to them ; namely, Lillian M., Emily L., 
and Annie K. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons are ac- 
tively identified with the religious movements 
of the community, being valued members of 
the Congregational church. He is a member 
of the parish committee and the superintend- 
ent of the Sunday-school. 



Wj 



|AJOR CHARLES S. SHAT- 
TUCK, a prominent manufacturer 

of Hatfield and a veteran of the 
Civil War, was born in Sheldon, Franklin 
County, Vt., June 5, 1840, son of Richard A. 
and Mary (Smith) Shattuck. 

Major Shattuck' s great-grandparents were 
Samuel and Sarah (Clesson) Shattuck, the 
former of whom was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary War, and participated in the battle of 
Bunker Hill. His second wife was Chloe 
Field. His children were: Samuel, Chloe, 
Consider, Seth, Lydia, Jessie, Robert, and 
Chester. Major Shattuck's grandfather, Con- 
sider Shattuck, was born in Greenfield, Mass. ; 



and in early manhood he settled in Sheldon, 
Vt., where he bought three hundred acres of 
wild land, which he cleared and improved into 
a productive farm. He followed agriculture 
successfully in the town of Sheldon, and died 
from the effects of an accident. Consider 
Shattuck was a generous, public-spirited man, 
a Whig in politics, and an Episcopalian in 
religious belief. He married Anna Atherton, 
and raised a family of three children : namely, 
Alvah, Zania, and Richard A. His wife 
wedded for her second husband Elihu Good- 
sill, and her six children by this union were: 
Eliza, Barnard, Frank, Mary, Chloe, and 
John. 

Richard A. Shattuck, Major Shattuck's 
father, was born in East Sheldon, Vt., March 
28, 1801. He learned the trade of a tanner 
and currier, an occupation which he followed 
for a time. He was appointed Collector of 
Customs for the district of Alburg Springs, 
Vt., where the office was located. He became 
a prominent man in the town, and ably filled 
several important positions of public trust. 
Richard A. Shattuck died December 6, 1S73. 
His wife, Mary Smith before marriage, was 
born in Sheldon, August 14, 1S05, daughter 
of Daniel Smith, of that town. She became 
the mother of twelve children, as follows: 
Helen M., DeForest E., J. Clesson, Emeline 
E., Barnard G., Eliza H., Daniel S., Norman 
L., Charles S., Arthur L., Helen M. (second), 
and Anna A. The mother died December 
14, 1871. 

Charles S. Shattuck was educated in the 
schools of Sheldon; and at the age of seven- 
teen he entered mercantile life as clerk in a 
hardware store in Burlington, Vt., where he 
remained for three years. On July 16, 1862, 
he enlisted as a private in Company K, Sixth 
Regiment Vermont Volunteers, for three 
years' service in the Civil War. He was 



S 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



immediately raised to the rank of Sergeant; 
and on September 19, 1864, he was promoted 
to the rank of First Lieutenant of his com- 
pany. He was made. Captain of United 
States Volunteers on February 22, 1865, and 
in July of that year was promoted to the 
rank of Brevet Major of Volunteers, his com- 
mission being signed by Abraham Lincoln. 
After his retirement from the service, Janu- 
ary 1, 1866, he returned to Vermont, and in 
company with E. O. Wires resumed mercan- 
tile business in Burlington. He dealt in 
crockery and glassware, paper hangings, etc., 
carrying on a wholesale and retail business for 
three years, at the expiration of which time he 
sold his interest to William Wood. He was 
appointed to take the census of the county in 
1870, and on January 1, 1871, accepted a 
position, with the Wilcox & Gibbs Sewing 
Machine Company in New York City. He 
remained for one year in New York, and was 
then sent to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the interest 
of the company. In 1874 he resigned his 
position with the Wilcox & Gibbs firm, and 
engaged in the manufacturing of pistols at 
Springfield, Mass., under the firm name of 
Hyde & Shattuck. The business proved a 
profitable one; and on February 1, 1877, the 
plant was moved to Hatfield, where the manu- 
facturing of single-barrel breech-loading shot- 
guns was added to the enterprise. In 1880 
Major Shattuck became sole proprietor of the 
establishment, and has since conducted its 
affairs with success. He has of late given his 
attention solely to the manufacturing of shot- 
guns, and produces four different patterns. 
He employs a force of thirty skilled workmen, 
and enjoys a steady patronage. Major Shat- 
tuck purchased a handsome residence on Main 
Street, built by Ashley Bardwell in 1874; 
and he also owns the substantial brick house 
situated directly opposite, formerly the home 



of Henry Bardwell, and the Curtis place on 
Pleasant Street. 

Major Shattuck is a Republican in politics, 
and has been chairman of the Republican 
Committee for twelve years. He was elected 
a member of the legislature of the Third 
Hampshire District in 1895. He is Town 
Auditor, and takes an active interest in all 
matters relating to the attractiveness and im- 
provement of the village. He is particularly 
interested in fine horses, and has bred some 
excellent roadsters. 

On September 2, 1884, Major Shattuck was 
united in marriage to Addie M. Doolittle. 
She was the daughter of Otis Doolittle (her 
mother's maiden name being Howard), and 
died in 1S85, aged thirty years. She was the 
mother of two children, twins, both of whom 
died in infancy. Major Shattuck is a comrade 
of the Grand Army of the Republic. Aside 
from his honorable army record, he is highly 
esteemed by his fellow-townsmen as an enter- 
prising and energetic citizen, who has the 
general welfare of the community at heart. 




iRS. HARRIET ELIZA PAR- 
SONS, residing at 7 Old South 
Street, Northampton, is the 
daughter of Nathaniel and Eliza (Hubbard) 
Sears, and widow of Enos Parsons, Esq., who 
died here, February 8, 1892, aged seventy-six 
years and eight months. A faithful likeness 
of Mr. Parsons appears on the opposite page. 
He was for many years a prominent lawyer of 
this city, being a partner with A. T. Crossley 
in the long-established firm of Parsons & Co. 
The name of Parsons has been honorably 
connected with the social and industrial de- 
velopment of this part of Massachusetts for 
two hundred and fifty years, the first of the 
name in these parts having been Joseph Par- 




ENOS PARSONS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



55 



sons, who, tradition says, emigrated from 
Great Torrington, England, with a brother 
Benjamin about 1630, probably coming in the 
same vessel with William Pynchon. It is 
known that he was in Springfield, Mass., in 
1636, and then called himself sixteen years of 
age. He was a tiller of the soil, and removed 
from there to Northampton in 1655. Seven 
years later he testified that he was a witness to 
a deed of the lands at Springfield, given July 
15. 1636, and to the bargain between the Ind- 
ians and Mr. Pynchon. by which the latter 
was to give eighteen fathoms of wampum, 
eighteen coats, eighteen hatchets, eighteen 
hoes, and eighteen knives for the land. 

As soon as Northampton was incorporated 
Joseph Parsons was chosen Townsman, or Se- 
lectman; but afterward he paid the town 
twenty shillings not to elect him to any office 
during the next year. He, however, served in 
official capacities seven years after that, and 
was one of the chief founders of the town. 
He was extensively engaged in the fur trade, 
and acquired a large estate. He was the first 
owner of land bought from the Indians in 
Squakeag (Northfield) in 1671, and was active 
in the settlement of that town. He married 
Mary Bliss, a native of Hartford, Conn., but 
later of Northfield; and they lived in North- 
ampton until 1679, when they removed to 
Springfield, where they died, he in 1683 and 
she in 1712. His home lot in Northampton 
contained four acres, and was bounded on the 
west by the highway (now Market Street), on 
the east by Pine Plain (now Cemetery Park), 
on the north by the land of John Bliss, and 
on the south by Bridge Street. 

Joseph Parsons was a large landholder, 
owning land in Springfield, Boston, and other 
places. He was one of the first persons 
in Northampton authorized to keep an ordi- 
nary, or tavern. He was cornet, or color 



bearer, of a cavalry company, then an officer 
in rank, and was known as Cornet Joseph Par- 
sons. Of his seven sons and five daughters 
all grew to maturity but one; and the first 
birth of a white child recorded in Northamp- 
ton was that of his son Ebenezer, May 1, 
1655. In 1674 Mary, wife of Cornet Joseph 
Parsons, was accused of witchcraft, and volun- 
tarily appeared in court in Springfield that 
year, desiring to clear herself of such a hei- 
nous crime. She was indicted by the Grand 
Jury in Boston in May, 1675, and committed 
to prison to await her trial, being finally ac- 
quitted May 13. 

Nathaniel Sears, the father of Mrs. Harriet 
E. Parsons, was of the seventh generation in 
direct descent from Richard Sares, an early 
settler of Yarmouth on the Cape, the emi- 
grant ancestor of the Sears family in New 
England. Nathaniel was a son of Rufus 
Sears, who was born in Yarmouth in 1770, 
and was left an orphan when very young, his 
father, Captain Nathaniel Sears, having been 
lost when on a sea voyage. Rufus became 
one of the well-to-do farmers of Hawley, 
where he settled after his marriage. He was 
a Deacon in the Congregational church. Na- 
thaniel Sears and Eliza Hubbard were married 
in 1824 at Williamsburg, where Mr. Sears was 
a prosperous manufacturer of woollen goods. 
Mrs. Eliza H. Sears died when only twenty- 
nine years old, leaving but one child, Harriet 
E., Mrs. Parsons. Mr. Sears subsequently 
married Miss Cordelia Morton, who bore him 
one child, Lorenzo, now Professor Sears, of 
Brown University. Mrs. Cordelia M. Sears, 
an intelligent and estimable woman of eighty- 
five years, makes her home with her son. In 
1863 Mr. Sears moved to Northampton, and 
here lived retired until his death, in 1888. 
He had accumulated a good property through 
energetic industry and thrift. 



56 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Sylvanus Hubbard, the maternal grandfather 
>i Mrs. Parsons, was likewise a tiller of the 
soil, locating at first in Sunderland, but re- 
moving from there to Williamsburg, where he 
improved a fine farm. He married Abigail 
Thayer; and they became the parents of six 
children — three sons and three daughters — 
one of whom is now living, Sylvanus, a resi- 
dent of Williamsburg. 

Harriet E. Sears was reared in Williams- 
burg, and received her education at Mount 
Holyoke Seminary. She became the wife of 
Finos Parsons in 1861. The only child born 
of their union was a son, Frank Sears Parsons, 
M.D., now a successful physician of Dor- 
chester, Mass. He began the study of medi- 
cine at the Harvard Medical School, and was 
graduated from the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons at New York City. He married 
Bertha Saxman, of Latrobe, Westmoreland 
County, Pa., on the 5th of September, 1891; 
and their union has been blessed by the birth 
of one son, Frank Enos Parsons, a winsome 
little fellow of three years. The fine brick 
house in which Mrs. Parsons resides was 
erected some forty-three years ago by Mr. 
Parsons, his first wife, formerly Mary Ann 
Crafts, having selected the rugged and pict- 
uresque site on the side hill, overlooking 
what was then the Mill River meadow, but 
which is now platted and covered with beauti- 
ful residences. Mrs. Harriet Parsons is a 
woman of much force of character, actuated by 
the highest Christian principles, and is held 
in universal respect and esteem. She is a 
valued member of the Jonathan Edwards 
Church, of which her husband was a generous 
supporter and one of the founders, he having 
contributed liberally to the building fund. 

Mr. Parsons was a man of great influence 
and of sterling integrity and worth. He was 
a stanch Republican in his political princi- 



ples, but always firmly declined elective 
office, although he was uniformly interested in 
local affairs and improvements. Before the 
establishment of the District Court for Hamp- 
shire County he was one of the Trial Justices, 
and was active in his practice as a lawyer 
until about the time of his decease, retaining 
his intellectual vigor to a remarkable degree. 
He took great interest in military tactics, and 
was familiarly known as Captain Parsons, 
having been appointed to that rank in a 
Northampton company in 1838. For eigh- 
teen years prior to 1890 Mr. Parsons was the 
attorney for the Massachusetts Central Rail- 
way Company and its successors, and without 
doubt settled more land claims than any other 
man in Hampshire County since the time of 
its formation. 




,OSES H. BEALS, Postmaster of 
Williamsburg, born in Goshen, 
Mass., June 5, 1829, is son of 
Moses W. and Rebecca (Joslyn) Beals. Mr. 
Beals's ancestors came from Hingham, Eng- 
land, and were among the first settlers of 
Hingham, Mass. Daniel Beals, Mr. Beals's 
grandfather, was born in Hingham, and set- 
tled on a farm in Cummington at an early 
date. He cleared and improved his property, 
and cultivated it successfully for many years. 
He raised a family of sixteen children, all of 
whom attained maturity; and his declining 
years were passed with them. He died in 
Medina, X.Y., aged seventy-six. 

Muses W. Beals, father of Mr. Beals, was 
born in Cummington, Mass., November 20, 
1803. He was reared to farming; and in 
early manhood he purchased a farm in the 
town of Goshen, and conducted it for a num- 
ber of years. Then he moved to Williams- 
burg, where he spent a long time in the em- 
ployment of G. Williams. After this he took 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



57 



up the stone-mason's trade, but soon aban- 
doned it, and bought the farm of twenty-seven 
acres known as the Rev. Lord homestead, 
where he resided thereafter until his death, 
in 18S5. He was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church, was a Whig in politics, but 
later joined the Republican party. His wife, 
Rebecca (Joslyn) Beals, a daughter of Will- 
iam Joslyn, a prosperous farmer, was mar- 
ried to him February 1, 1828. They had four 
children, as follows: Moses H., the subject 
of this sketch; Addison W., now living in 
West Brookfield, Mass. ; a child who died in 
infancy; and Clarissa, who died at the age of 
sixteen years. The mother died in 1 890, 
aged eighty-seven years. 

Muses H. Reals was educated in the town 
schools, and learned the trades of a harness- 
maker and carriage trimmer in the shops of 
Stearns Brothers, of Williamsburg. During 
the Civil War he was employed by Wilkinson 
& Cummings at Springfield, Mass., in making 
harnesses, saddles, and other army accoutre- 
ments. In 1S72 he established himself in 
the harness business in Williamsburg, where 
he conducted a successful trade until 1893, 
when he retired. Mr. Meals is a Democrat in 
politics, and has ably filled various town 
offices, such as Town Clerk, Treasurer, and 
School Committeeman. In 1885 he was ap- 
pointed Postmaster, and held that position 
until 1889. He was commissioned Justice of 
the Peace in 1S92. In 1893 he was reap- 
pointed Postmaster, and conducts the office to 
general satisfaction. He was a member of 
Nonatuck Lodge, No. 61, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, of Northampton, of which he 
is Past Grand; and he is also Past Chief Pa- 
triarch of the Encampment. 

Mr. Beals has been twice married. On 
September 30, 1851, he wedded Mary Sher- 
wood, daughter of Eli Sherwood. She died 



at the age of twenty-three years, leaving one 
son, Charles S., who is now a mechanic in 
Leeds. Mass., ami who married Isadore Wal- 
bridge, and has three children: Grace, Abbie, 
and Lena. On July 5, 1S55. Mr. Beals mar- 
ried his second wife. Mary Flynn, daughter ol 
Patrick Flynn; and by this union he has one 
daughter, named Lucella D.. who is now the 
wife of Homer Bradford, a mechanic of Will- 
iamsburg. Mr. Beals is liberal in his relig- 
ious views, a courteous official, and held in 
high esteem by his fellow-townsmen. 



M 



WIGHT GRAVES, a prominent 
business man of North Amherst, 
son of Fortin and Louisa ( Ru-sell) 
Graves, was born in Otselic. WW, January 7. 
1839. Fortin Graves was born in Sunder- 
land, Mas-... August 24, 1S01, and followed 
agriculture in Hinsdale, Berkshire County, 
Mass., for the greater part of his life, lie was 
residing in South Amherst with his son when 
he died, April 24. 1S76. He was an indus- 
trious and highly esteemed citizen and a Re- 
publican in politics. His wife, who was born 
October 21, 1803, became the mother of nine 
children, as follows: Samantha, Louisa, 
Emily, Julia, William, who are dead: Nel- 
son, a carpenter, who resides in Illinois: 
Leonard, a resident of Deadwood, S. Dak.; 
Dwight, the subject of this sketch; and Ed- 
ward, a carpenter of Williamsville, Vt. The 
mother died in Hinsdale, February 22, 1 

Lwight Graves was educated in the district 
schools of Berkshire Count)'; and, when a 
young man, he commenced to learn the ti 
of a wood-turner. In 1861 he came to Am- 
herst, and entered the employ of John W. 
Haskins, a carpenter, with whom he remained 
for a number of years. In [869 he fori): 
partnership with B. F. Kellogg; and. pur- 



5§ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



chasing Haskins's business, the new firm 
continued it. They did wood-turning and 
general jobbing, manufacturing sashes, doors, 
and blinds. In 1880 they sold their old 
shops, and moved to their present mill, where 
they have built up a prosperous business. 
Their mill has much enlarged capacities, is 
equipped with modern machinery for sawing 
all kinds of lumber, and employs from four to 
ten men. Mr. Graves is a Republican in 
politics and a member of the Pacific Lodge of 
A. F. & A. M. On April 11, 1863, he mar- 
ried Mary E. Kellogg, a daughter of Dexter 
and Mary (Town) Kellogg, old residents of 
Amherst. Mrs. Graves is a member of the Con- 
gregational church. Mr. Graves is a stirring 
business man, full of energy and ability; and 
his success is the result of untiring and patient 
industry. 

(^TrNDREW J- DAVIS, who with his 
f^X brother, Henry C. Davis, is engaged 
/^ls \^^ _ _ in the insurance and real estate 
business, is one of the eight surviving children 
of Benjamin and Cordelia (Buffington) Davis, 
his birth having occurred on February 6, 
i860. Mr. Davis was reared on the home 
farm, remaining with his parents until he 
reached his majority. After graduating from 
the Ware High School, he took a special 
course at the Ann Arbor High School in 
Michigan. He left there in February, 1881, 
and soon after entered the employ of Tobias 
New, of New York City, a manufacturer of 
roofing materials and asphalt pavement. He 
remained with him until April, 1888, when 
he returned to Ware, and in the year follow- 
ing took charge of his father's farm. In De- 
cember, 1889, he entered into partnership with 
his brother, Henry C. Davis, in the real es- 
tate and insurance business, which has since 
been quite successful. 



On May 4, 1887, the anniversary of his 
father's and this brother's wedding day, his 
own marriage to Miss Emma A. Glines was 
performed. She is the second daughter of 
David B. and Adeline O. (Draper) Glines, of 
Ware. Her father died in February, 1895, at 
the age of sixty-one years, leaving a goodly 
estate to his family. He was a native of 
Maine; but he came to Ware about forty years 
ago, and after a time established a successful 
business. In his last years he did little be- 
yond looking after his property and invest- 
ments. His elder daughter, Grace D., mar- 
ried Frank M. Sibley, of the firm of Hitchcock 
& Co. Mr. and Mrs. Davis's home has been 
made happy by the advent of two daughters 
and one son, namely: Grace G., a little 
woman of six years; Esther Helen, who is 
four years old; and Benjamin, born in Sep- 
tember, 1895. 

The Republican party counts Mr. Davis 
among its faithful adherents, and he served as 
Postmaster at Ware during General Harrison's 
administration. Among his other official 
trusts may be mentioned that of Deputy Sher- 
iff and Notary Public. Fraternally, he is a 
Knight Templar, being a member of the 
Northampton Commandery, King Solomon's 
Chapter of Warren, and Eden Lodge of 
Masons of Ware. He is also a member of the 
Ware Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
Ancient Order of United Workmen. At 
present Mr. Davis and his family reside on 
Spring Street; but he is now building a new 
and larger home on Elm Street, adjoining 
the residence of his brother, Henry C. 



AMES RUSSELL TRUMBULL, a 
much respected resident of Northamp- 
ton, has been identified with the indus- 
trial, educational, and literary interests of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



59 



this section of Hampshire County for many 
years, and has ably assisted in maintaining 
and advancing its welfare. He is a native of 
this county, born in Haydenville, Williams- 
burg, December 2 1, 1825, a son of Guy and 
Clarissa (Nash) Trumbull. 

The Trumbulls were well-known manufact- 
urers of Connecticut during the last part of 
the eighteenth century. David Trumbull, 
the grandfather of James Russell Trumbull, 
was a resident of Windsor for many years. 
His last days were spent at his home in East 
Windsor, where his death occurred in January, 
1800, at the age of fifty-five years. He mar- 
ried Sarah Harper, by whom he had eight 
children, of whom seven grew to maturity, 
ami married, the most of them having large 
families, one son rearing nine children. 

Guy Trumbull, born in East Windsor, 
Conn., July 6, 1786, grew to manhood in his 
native State, coming to this county when a 
young man. He was a member of the firm of 
Hayden, Trumbull & Co., manufacturers of 
machinery, looms, etc. On June 20, 1822, he 
was married to Clarissa Nash, of Williams- 
burg, a daughter of a prominent farmer, John 
Nash, and his wife, Martha (Little) Nash. 
Three children were born to them, namely: 
Julia Shepherd, who was wife of E. L. Miller, 
and died in 1892, aged sixty-nine years; 
James Russell, the subject of this sketch; and 
Martha Howard, a maiden lady, living at 
South Hadley Falls. The father, who was a 
man of exceedingly good habits and reputation 
and an esteemed citizen, died before reaching 
the noon-tide of life, in Haydenville, June 19, 
1828. His widow survived him, departing 
this life July 26, 1873, at the venerable age 
of fourscore years. 

The subject of this sketch was educated in 
the common schools. When a lad of seven- 
teen years, he was apprenticed to the printer's 



trade, entering the office of the Hampshire 
Gazette, and serving his three years' time 
under William A. Hawley. He became an 
expert compositor, and finally was made fore- 
man of the office, remaining in that position 
until 1847. Then he bought from Homer A. 
Cooke the Hampshire and Franklin Express, 
which was established in 1844 by J. S. and 
C. Adams, and subsequently came into the 
hands of Samuel Nash, the predecessor of Mr. 
Cooke. Mr. Trumbull became printer and 
editor of it in 1849. He subsequently became 
editor of the Hampshire Gazette, published by 
Hopkins, Bridgeman & Co., and was serving 
in that capacity until January 1, 1858, when 
Thomas Hale, of Windsor, \'t.. became half- 
owner and the editor. The following October 
Mr. Trumbull purchased the entire plant, 
merging the Gazette and the Northampton 
Courier into one publication, under the name 
of the Gazette and Courier, thenceforth jointly 
edited by Trumbull & Gere. The firm did a 
good paying business until January 1, 1877, 
when the senior partner sold his interest in 
the paper to Mr. Gere. Since that time Mr. 
Trumbull, who has been somewhat of an in- 
valid, has lived in retirement at his pleasant 
home, 45 Prospect Street, which he built 
twenty-seven years ago. 

On November 6, 1848, Mr. Trumbull mar- 
ried Harriet T. Kingsley, of Northampton. 
Her father, Edwin Kingsley, was by occupa- 
tion a blacksmith, and died in 1874. aged 
eighty-two years. He married Belinda 
Kingsbury, who was bom in Brattleboro, Yt., 
in 1804, and died in Northampton in 1886. 
She- bore her husband eight children, six of 
whom grew to maturity. Mr. Trumbull has 
always been identified with the Republican 
party, and has held public offices in the town 
and city. He was cho en City Treasurer in 
[884, and filled that office fur six years, de- 



6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



dining a renomination in 1889. For over 
thirty years he was a valued member of the 
Library Committee, and is now serving as one 
of the Trustees of the Forbes Library, having 
been elected in 1894. He was one of the 
Board of Almoners for the Whiting Street 
Fund, and was for many years clerk of the old 
Parish Church. He still devotes a portion of 
his time to literary pursuits. Having, in 
connection with George W. Hubbard, pur- 
chased the Judd manuscript, he has been work- 
ing for the past eighteen years on the history 
of Northampton, which, no doubt, will be a 
valuable accession to our historical records. 



rACE L. CLARK, secretary of the 
Villiston & Knight Company of 
Easthampton, was born in West 
Springfield, October 2, 1837, and is the son 
of Anson Kingsley and Laura (Brown) Clark. 
He is a scion of one of the oldest and most 
honored families in New England, tracing his 
lineage to Lieutenant William Clark, who 
came from England in 1630 with the first set- 
tlers of Dorchester. 

Lieutenant Clark lived in Dorchester until 
1659, when he removed to Northampton, and 
there established a homestead on a site that is 
now included in the grounds of Smith Col- 
lege. He was a man of sterling parts, and 
held among other public offices that of Judge 
of the District Court. His son John, who 
was occupied much as his father had been, 
first married in 1677 Sarah Cooper, who bore 
him a daughter, Sarah, afterward wife of 
Zachariah Field. He married again March 
20, 1679, Mary Strong, daughter of Elder 
John Strong. His son, John Clark, Jr., mar- 
ried October 31, 1704, Elizabeth Cook, 
daughter of Noah Cook and grand-daughter of 
Major Aaron Cook, and reared five sons and 



six daughters, nearly all of whom had fam- 
ilies. The youngest son, Josiah, lived to be 
ninety-two; and at the time of his death there 
were living nine hundred and twenty-eight 
descendants of his grandfather, of whom at 
one time there were eleven hundred and fifty- 
eight. Eliakim, son of John Clark, Jr., was 
the great-great-grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch. He removed from Northampton 
to what is now Easthampton, where he was 
one of the early settlers and a large land- 
holder, and gave the land for the East Street 
Cemetery. He married December 10, 1730, 
Esther Wright, daughter of Ebenezer Wright 
and grand-daughter of Samuel Wright, Jr., 
who was killed by Indians at Northfield, Sep- 
tember 22, 1675. His son Asahel, our sub- 
ject's great-grandfather, was a soldier in the 
French and Indian wars, in active service at 
Lake George in 1755, and at Ticonderoga in 
1758. He also served in the Revolutionary 
army, being promoted to the rank of Lieuten- 
ant. He married October 31, 1761, Submit 
Clapp, daughter of Major Jonathan Clapp. 
His son Eliakim, Horace L. Clark's grand- 
father, enlisted as a minute-man in 1777, and 
fought in the ranks of the Revolutionary army 
when a youth of eighteen. He first went to 
the war, on alarm to Ticonderoga, at the age 
of fifteen, with his grandfather, Major Jonathan 
Clapp, a member of one of the most distin- 
guished families of Northampton, of whom an 
extended account is given on another page. 
Eliakim Clark died in 1828, at the age of 
sixty-one. He was three times married, and 
had several children by each wife. He was the 
father of the twin brothers, Willis Gaylord 
Clark, editor of the Philadelphia Gazette and 
a poet of some note, and Lewis Gaylord Clark, 
of the Knickerbocker Magazine. The mother 
of Horace L. Clark's father was Lydia, daugh- 
ter of Jonathan and Lydia (Lyman) Kingsley. 




HORACE L. CLARK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



61 



Anson Kingsley Clark was born in 1790, 
and was the oldest of his father's children. 
He also was a soldier, served in the War of 
1 81 2, and died in 1864. In 181 5 he was 
united in marriage with Laura, daughter of 
Eli and Sarah (Lyman) Brown, of Easthamp- 
ton, who also was of Revolutionary stock, 
both of her grandfathers, Captain Silas Brown 
and Captain David Lyman, having a record of 
service as Lieutenants in the Second Hamp- 
shire County Regiment. She died in 1879, 
and her remains rest with those of her hus- 
band in the West Springfield Cemetery. Of 
their children the following reached adult 
life: Harriet, wife of Harrison Bennett, now 
deceased; Mary Ann, deceased, wife of Oliver 
F. Pinney, of Springfield; Edson and Julia 
W. Clark, in West Springfield; and Horace 
Lyman, whose name heads this article. 

Horace L. Clark finished his education at 
the Chicopee High School in 1S53. He first 
worked as a salesman in a store of South Had- 
ley, and from 1856 to i860 was in Darien and 
Savannah, Ga. In 1S62 he entered the em- 
ploy of the Will iston & Knight Company, and 
for the past twelve years has been secretary 
and superintendent of these large mills — a 
responsible position, which only a man of 
business ability and mental acumen could fill 
successfully. He is a Director of Easthamp- 
ton Public Library Association and of the 
Easthampton Gas Company, as well as of the 
YVilliston & Knight Company. 

On May 18, 1869, he was married to Sarah 
Webster, of Owego, N.Y., daughter of Moses 
L. Webster, of Vermont, and they have an 
interesting family of three daughters: Mary 
Webster Clark, a graduate of Smith College 
in the class of 1895; and Alice and Edith, 
young ladies in the class of 1898 in the same 
college. Mr. Clark votes in the ranks of the 
Republican party, and is interested in public 



matters, although not an active politician. 
He is a Knight Templar, being Past Masti r 
of Ionic Lodge. For some years he has been 
Deacon and Treasurer of the Payson Congre- 
gational Church, of which his wife and family 
are also members. He has a pleasant In. me 
on Park Street, which he erected in 1S70. 




NSLOW G. SPELMAN, a retired 
manufacturer and one of the most 
wealthy residents of Williamsburg, 
was born in Granville, Mass., September 11, 
182 1, son of Aaron and Elizabeth (Gross) 
Spelman. Mr. Spelman's grandfather, Elijah 
Spelman, was born in Granville, Mass. He 
was descended from the Spelman that origi- 
nally settled in Durham, Conn. Aaron Spel- 
man was born August 18, 1792, and received 
a good education. He settled in Granville, 
where he became a school-teacher. lie was 
accidentally killed March 21, 1828, while cut- 
ting wood for the church and parsonage. His 
wife, Elizabeth Gross, was born May 8, 1793. 
She became the mother of four children, as 
follows: Solon S. ; Onslow G. ; Oscar F. ; 
and Urseline, who died at an early age. The 
mother died October 26, 1848. 

Onslow G. Spelman was but seven years "1 
age at the time of his father's death. At 
about the age of ten years he went to West- 
field, Mass., where he entered into an agree- 
ment with a Mr. Dewey to work for his board, 
clothing, and education until sixteen. Six 
months before arriving at the required age he 
purchased his time, and went to North I lad- 
ley, where he worked on a farm, and enga 
in broom-making. After pursuing a course 
at the Buckland Academy, he went to Hayden- 
ville, and obtained employment in Josiah 
Hayden's pen factory. Finding the work in 
the factory not to his liking, he entered the 



62 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



store as a clerk, at a salary of twenty-five dol- 
lars per year and board. When twenty-one, 
he took a vacation, during which time he sold 
steel pens to help bear his expenses. He 
spent the following winter in a store in North- 
ampton, and in the spring of 1843 came to 
Williamsburg, where for three years he acted 
as clerk and travelling salesman for Mr. 
Thayer. When D. W. Graves established his 
button manufactory, Mr. Spelman became its 
general manager. He later secured an inter- 
est in the business, after which the firm was 
known as O. G. Spelman & Co. Under his 
energetic management the business rapidly 
developed, finally becoming an important in- 
dustry. An interesting feature of the man- 
agement was the establishment by the com- 
pany of a store in connection with their 
business, in which they carried on a profit- 
able trade. The firm finally dissolved; and 
Mr. Spelman rented a factory on Mill River, 
which he soon after purchased. There he 
conducted a successful business until the 
buildings were swept away by the flood of 
1874. He rebuilt the factory, and then sold 
it. He afterward became interested in an- 
other button factory for the space of three 
years more, when he retired. He also had 
an interest in the Textile Manufacturing 
Company of Westfield, Mass., being the pres- 
ident and general manager. This connection 
he resigned one year later, and then perma- 
nently retired from active business. In 1864 
he erected his. present residence on Main 
Street, one of the finest and most substantial 
houses in the village. 

In 1849 Mr. Spelman was united in mar- 
riage to Harriet B. Sears. She died at the 
age of fifty-nine, leaving one daughter, Eliza- 
beth, who resides at home. He wedded for 
his second wife Mrs. Olive (Merrill) Guild, 
daughter of Ira Merrill. He is independent 




in politics. That he has climbed to so high 
a rung on the ladder of life from the ground 
must be entirely credited to his own efforts. 
A life such as his is a liberal education in 
pluck and perseverance for our young men of 
to-day. 

VERETT C. STONE, editor and propri- 
etor of the Northampton Daily Hem Id, 
was born at Newburyport, Mass. 
He is a son of John O. A. Stone, who is 
now a resident of Danielson, Conn., publish- 
ing the Windham County Transcript, and is 
one of the oldest and best-known editors in 
that State. 

Everett C. Stone received his elementary 
education in the public schools. He began 
to attend Phillips Academy at Andover, in- 
tending to take a full course of study, but fail- 
ing health obliged him to abandon his pur- 
pose. He early became acquainted with the 
"art preservative," and made his first busi- 
ness venture in 1 87 1 by starting the Putnam 
Patriot at Putnam, Conn. He continued its 
publication eleven years, selling out in 1882, 
and removing to Worcester, Mass. There 
Mr. Stone engaged in job printing and book 
publishing. He also established the Worces- 
ter Home Journal, a weekly paper, which he 
disposed of in 1885. Coming then to North- 
ampton, he bought the Hampshire Herald, 
which was then published as a two-cent daily. 
Lowering the price to one cent, and changing 
the name to the Northampton Daily Herald, 
he has since successfully continued its publi- 
cation. It is the oldest daily paper published 
in Hampshire County, and under his efficient 
management the circulation has increased 
sixfold. Mr. Stone, when reducing the price 
of the paper, increased its size, which is now 
double what it was originally. He has also 
erected the new three-story block in which his 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



63 



printing establishment is located. The plant, 
which is one of the best-equipped in this vi- 
cinity, includes a Webb perfecting press and 
type-setting machine. 




ILBUR H. H. WARD, a retired 
business man of Amherst, was 
born in Southbridge, Mass., April 
8, 1845, son of John B. and Louisa (Cook) 
Ward, and grandson of Reuben H. and Polly 
(Shaw) Ward. 

Mr. Ward's grandparents were natives of 
Belchertown, where his great-grandfather, 
John Ward, was an early settler. He owned 
a good farm there, and was generally known 
as an industrious and honest man. Both he 
and his wife lived to advanced age. They 
had a family of four sons and two daughters. 
John Ward was a member of the State militia, 
and was in Springfield at the time of Shays's 
Rebellion. Politically, he was a Democrat. 
His son, Reuben H. Ward, succeeding to the 
ownership of the homestead, was engaged dur- 
ing his lifetime in agricultural pursuits. He 
prospered in his undertakings, and he owned 
land at the time of his death aggregating one 
hundred and twenty-five acres. Politically, 
he was independent. In religious matters his 
views were not restricted by creed, being 
broadly liberal. He died at the age of 
seventy-five. Grandmother Ward lived to be 
eighty-two. They had a family of seven sons 
and six daughters, four of whom are now liv- 
ing, namely: John B., the father of our sub- 
ject; Warren S., in Michigan; Alfred, in 
Gilbertville; Lutheria (Mrs. Davis), in South 
Orange. 

John B. Ward, the father of Mr. Ward, was 
educated in the schools of Belchertown. As 
a first attempt at earning a livelihood he hired 
out as a farm hand at ten dollars a month, 



and later he worked in the woollen factories 
of Ware and Southbridge. After fourteen 
years of factory life he purchased four hun- 
dred acres of land in Pelham, and engaged in 
lumbering and general farming. From 1850 
to 1868 he was the largest tax-payer in Pel- 
ham. He was also the most extensive farmer, 
and was prominent as a lumberman. In Sep- 
tember, 186S, he purchased the handsome 
estate where he and his son, Wilbur, now re- 
side, and retired from active work. Mr. 
Ward's early years were devoted to hard and 
persevering labor, and he is now enjoying its 
fruits. Politically, he favors the Democratic 
party. In religious views, like his father, he 
is liberal. His wife, to whom he was united 
May 15, 1837, was born in Pelham, June 23, 
18 1 5, daughter of Ziba and Sally Cook. Ziba 
Cook was a leading man in his district, and 
represented Pelham in the legislature several 
terms. Mrs. Ward died at Amherst, March 
11, 1872. 

Wilbur H. H. Ward was the only child of 
his parents. He was quite young when they 
removed to Pelham, and in that town received 
his early education, afterward attending other 
schools in Hampshire County. In 1866 he 
engaged in the bakery business in Springfield, 
with W. C. Wedge as partner. One year 
later they removed to Holyoke, and for some 
nine years conducted a successful trade in 
that town. In 1876 Mr. Ward went to New 
York City, and there was engaged as a bal 1 1 
till 1887, when he disposed of his business, 
and moved to Amherst, deciding 

••To husband out life's taper at the 1 lose, 
And keep the flame from wasting, by ri pi 

On February 16, 1865, Mr. Ward was mar- 
ried to Elizabeth A., daughter of Lemuel C. 
and Lucy Wedge, born in Pelham, January 5. 
1846. Mr. and .Mrs. Ward have no children. 



6 4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Ward votes the Democratic ticket. In 
religious views he is liberal, while his wife is 
a member of the Episcopal church. He be- 
longs to the Masonic fraternity, and was one 
of the charter members of the Association of 
Knights of Pythias in Holyoke. He has 
been a very successful man in business; and 
his residence on North Prospect Street, in the 
beautiful college town of Amherst, is one of 
the handsomest homes in the vicinity. 



tEVI CHURCH, deceased since August 
24, 1889, who was a successful farmer 
^ ^ for many years in South Hadley, 
was born April 27, 1828. Josiah Church, his 
father, born March 7, 1790, was one of the 
early settlers of the locality. He bought a 
tract of wild land, from which he cleared a 
farm, and on it spent the remainder of a long 
and useful life, which terminated April 23, 
1855. Josiah's wife, whose maiden name was 
Sallie Smith, was born May 29, 1791, and 
died on the old homestead July 3, 1834. She 
bore her husband eight children, one of whom 
died in infancy. The record of the others is 
as follows: Luther, born April 18, 1830, is 
the only one now living; Waitstell, born 
December 10, 1818, died September 7, 1846; 
Russell, born October 3, 1820, died January 
10, 1866; Eli, born June 5, 1822, died June 
9, 1866; Dorcas, born October 6, 1825, died 
January 22, 1879; Levi, the subject of this 
notice; and Marinda, born February 17, 1832, 
died April 11, 1 84S. 

After the death of his father Levi Church 
assumed the management of the home farm. 
In the course of time he made many substan- 
tial improvements, placing the eighty-two 
acres of land in an excellent state of culti- 
vation, and rendering it one of the best farms 
in the vicinity. He was a man of enterprise 



and energy, and had a spirit not easily daunted 
by difficulties. In due time his pluck and 
perseverance brought him competency. He 
was much respected for his integrity, and, 
though never very prominent in local matters, 
served two years as Assessor. He married 
Mary A. Stebbim, of Granby, a daughter of 
Austin Stebbim. Their household circle was 
enlarged by the birth of four children, as fol- 
lows: Edgar, born February 22, 1859, died 
August 31, 1859; Edwin J., born November 
6, i860, now owner and occupant of the old 
homestead; Mary F. , born September 22, 
1862, married F. A. Luther, of Canton, Ohio; 
and Carrie M., born April 15, 1S65, died in 
1892. Mrs. Church, who was a true helpmeet 
to her husband, aiding and encouraging him in 
all his ventures, is still living, making her 
home by turns with her son and daughter. 
Edwin J. Church, the only living son, re- 
ceived a practical training from his father in 
the business of farming. Since taking posses- 
sion of the estate he has managed it with re- 
markable success. He married Eliza C. Judd ; 
and, of the two children that came of the union, 
one died in infancy. The survivor, Cleora 
Catherine, was born September iS, 1893. 
Mr. Church is a Republican in politics, and 
both he and his wife are members of the Con- 
gregational church. 



- .-••»-. 




HARLES E. STEVENS, a resident 
of Ware and one of the leading wool- 
len manufacturers in the country, 
was born in the town, April 21, 1843, and is 
a son of Charles A. and Maria (Tyler) 
Stevens. 

His grandfather, Nathaniel Stevens, was 
born in Andover, Mass., in the year 1783. 
During the active period of his life he was 
successfully engaged in the manufacture of 



r^ w*^*, 



I 




CHARLES E. STEVENS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



67 



woollen goods at North Andover, Mass. He 
married Miss Harriot Hale, a native of 
Chelmsford, Middlesex County; and they 
reared a family of nine children, eight of 
whom married. There were four sons and five 
daughters. Five are now living, namely: 
Henry H. Stevens, of Lexington, Ky. ; 
Moses T. Stevens, a very successful woollen 
manufacturer at North Andover, who was for 
four years a member of Congress, and has 
held various other prominent positions; Julia 
M., the widow of S. S. Hunting, residing at 
Des Moines, la.; Catherine, who married 
Oliver Stevens, of Boston; and Eliza, the 
wife of J. H. D. Smith, living in Boston. 
Their father died in April, 1865, seventy- 
eight years of age, and their mother in Janu- 
ary, 1882, eighty-eight years old. 

Charles A. Stevens, who was born in North 
Andover, Mass., August 9, 1815, worked for 
his father for a short time after ceasing to at- 
tend school. In 1S41 he removed to Ware, 
and in company with the late George H. Gil- 
bert started in the woollen business for him- 
self. Ten years later the firm of Gilbert & 
Stevens was dissolved, and he conducted the 
business alone up to 1872. At this time he 
took his son, Charles E. Stevens, into part- 
nership with him; and they did a thriving 
and successful business up to the time of his 
death. Besides his mill interests, he was 
connected with other large business enter- 
prises. Among them were the Turner's Falls 
Water Company, the John Russell Cutlery 
Company, the Cotton and Woollen Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company of Boston, and the 
Ware Savings Bank. He was President of 
each of the last three, and was the last sur- 
vivor of the original incorporators of the Ware 
Savings Bank, which was organized in 1850. 
He was a member of the State legislature 
in 1852, a member of Governor Bullock's 



Council in 1866 and 1867, and Congressman 
to serve the remainder of the unexpired term 
of Alvah Crocker, of Fitchburg, after he died. 
In 1853 he was one of the leaders in organiz- 
ing the Ware Fire Department, of which he 
served as the first Chief Engineer. In poli- 
tics he was a stanch Republican, and served 
as a delegate to the Republican National Con- 
ventions in i860 and 1S68. 

He was married on April 20, 1842, to 
Maria Tyler, a daughter of Jonathan Tyler, 
of Lowell, Mass. Their wedded life was 
spent in Ware, where their five children — 
four sons and a daughter — were born. One 
son died in infancy, and Nathaniel lived to 
be but four and a half years of age. The 
survivors are as follows : Charles E. Stevens, 
the subject of this sketch; Jonathan Tyler 
Stevens, of Lowell; and Julia M. S., the wife 
of Dr. J. H. Jolliffe, of New York City. 
Their mother died March 3, 1S81, sixty-five 
years of age, and their father on April 7, 
1892. He was with his daughter in New 
York at the time, and his funeral occurred 
just eight months from the time of her mar- 
riage. The burial was in the family lot at 
Aspen Grove Cemetery in Ware. As marks 
of respect to the memory of the deceased the 
business offices ami stores of the town were 
closed during the funeral services. The mill 
of Charles A. Stevens & Co. was closed from 
Saturday noon until the following Wednesday, 
and for two hours preceding the services a 
thousand of the mill operatives and their 
wives viewed the remains. 

Charles E. Stevens received a good practi- 
cal common-school education. He was reared 
to the manufacturing business, and bi 
partner in his father's business in 1872, when 
the firm title was changed to Charles A. 
Stevens & Co. At his father's death he 
became the sole proprietor, and has continued 



68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to do a most successful business, keeping up 
the standard of excellence for which the goods 
manufactured by that company have become 
so well known throughout the country. He 
also succeeded his father as President of the 
John Russell Cutlery Company, and is a Di- 
rector of the Turner's Falls Water Company, 
of the Cotton and Woollen Mutual Fire In- 
surance Company of Boston, of the Ware Na- 
tional Bank, of the Ware River Railroad Com- 
pany, of the Ware River Manufacturing 
Company; and he is a Trustee of the Ware 
Savings Bank. 

His political principles are Republican. 
In 1S82 he was chosen a member of the 
House of Representatives, and for 1889-90 
served as a Senator in the legislature. For 
two years he was a member of the State Cen- 
tral Committee, and was elected a member of 
the Governor's Council in 1894 and 1895. 
The accompanying portrait of Mr. Stevens 
will be widely recognized and appreciated. 




ALDO HUNT WHITCOMB, of 

Northampton, the collector and pos- 
sessor of one of the finest antiqua- 
rian collections in the United States, was born 
mi the estate where he resides, at the corner 
of State and Park Streets, January 26, 1840. 
He is the son of David B. and Nancy (Clapp) 
Whitcomb, and comes of good old New Eng- 
land stock. 

His grandfather, James Whitcomb, was a 
farmer in humble circumstances, who, being 
of a roving disposition, moved often, and aptly 
illustrated the old adage that "a rolling stone 
gathers no moss." He was a very eccentric 
man, a genius in many respects, with a natural 
knack for mechanics. Moving from Braintree 
to Goshen shortly after his marriage, he made 
by hand all the nails used in building the 



Baptist church in the latter town. He lived 
some time in Brookfield, Mass. ; and while 
there his home was destroyed by fire. His 
son David, the father of Waldo Hunt Whit- 
comb, was wont to relate how the neighbors, 
on this occasion, moved with pity for the fam- 
ily, brought in nine pair of knee breeches, 
then going out of style, while no one offered 
to replenish the empty larder. James Whit- 
comb was twice married, and reared six daugh- 
ters and one son, David. All married and 
had families, the youngest to die being 
twenty-one years of age at the time of death. 
David B. Whitcomb's birth was coincident 
with that of the last year of the eighteenth 
century, as he was born in the first hour of the 
year 1800. His parents moved from Goshen 
to Williamsburg, and in the latter place David 
worked on a farm for a time, until 181 5, when 
he started to learn the painter's trade at Pitts- 
field. In 1822 he obtained work at his trade 
in Northampton, and was six years in the 
employ of the late Elijah Abbott. From 1828 
to 1832 he was in business with John Moies, 
and in the latter year he began to take con- 
tracts alone. He was a very painstaking work- 
man, never slighting his work, but taking 
great pride in doing it well ; and it is safe to 
say that the town never had a more reliable or 
honest tradesman. His merit was fully recog- 
nized, and secured for him contracts from the 
best line of customers in the town. Begin- 
ning life in comparative poverty, he had a 
long struggle with adversity. He settled on 
one acre of ground in 1832, on what is now 
the corner of State and Park Streets, and 
within a few years a great part of his land was 
taken from him to make a way for the North- 
ampton & New Haven Canal, no indemnity 
being paid for the right of way. He also had 
to struggle against boycotting and other annoy- 
ances inflicted upon him by prominent citizens 



BIOGRAPHICAL REV I FAY 



6 9 



of Northampton who differed from him in 

religious and political opinions, but his un- 
swerving integrity and steady perseverance 
carried him through. Though lie did not 
amass wealth, he attained a fair amount of 
prosperity and won the respect of all. He 
was a Jeffersonian Democrat and an influen- 
tial factor in local politics. Me was several 
times nominated for the legislature, to lead 
the forlorn hope of the Democrats; but, as the 
Republican party was in the ascendant in that 
district, he was always defeated. lie died on 
September 6, 1SS1, the memorable "yellow 
day," ami was laid to rest in the Northampton 
cemetery. 

On May 19, 1828, David B. Whitcomb mar- 
ried Nancy, daughter of Bohan and Anna 
(Lavake) Clapp, of Northampton. Mrs. Whit- 
comb was born January 10, 1800, and comes of 
a well-known Northampton family, from whom 
it is evident the subject of this sketch inher- 
ited his love for the antique and the beautiful. 
She was a thrifty and industrious woman, and 
earned enough money at dress-making to buy 
a lot of land on which her husband erected a 
home for the family. She died March 10, 
1866, in her sixty-seventh year, and was in- 
terred in the Northampton cemetery. Mr. 
and Mrs. Whitcomb were the parents of six 
children, two of whom died in infancy. Of 
the others the following may be stated : Julia 
A. is the wife of William Moody, of North- 
ampton; David B. resides on the homestead 
where his father died ; Waldo 11. is the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Parker Richardson, who 
was born January 26, 1842, went to New York 
City in 1866, made and lost a fortune of ten 
thousand dollars, made a larger one again, and 
is now a wealthy dealer in patent medicines, 
owning a handsome residence and other val- 
uable property in New York. 

Waldo Hunt Whitcomb received his educa- 



tion in the district schools, from his tenth to 
his nineteenth year attending school in the 
winter only, working in the summer season, 
when he received for his labor two shillings 
a day. He took his first lessons in painting 
when twelve years of age. and at eighteen was 
trusted by his father with the full management 
of contracts. As his father advanced in years, 
Waldo and his brother David shouldered the 
responsibilities of the business, which was car- 
ried on under the name of D. B. Whitcomb's 
Sons. Our subject remained at home while 
his parents were alive, and, when a man of 
twenty-eight, was still turning in his earnings 
to the family fund. The brothers are yet 
carrying on the business established by their 
father, and the name Whitcomb is still a 
synonym for first-class painting. Waldo Hunt 
Whitcomb is also the efficient agent for the 
Burnham School, looking after the laundry and 
the provisions for the boarding-halls. He 
has been agent for Miss Capen for several 
years at a good salary. His residence at the 
corner of Park and State Streets, was origi- 
nally a barn in the rear of the old Whitcomb 
estate. The dwelling-house is the home of 
fifty of the girl students who attend the Capen 
School; and Mr. Whitcomb has made of the 
barn a most unique residence, equipped with 
electric bells and all modern conveniences. 
He lives in the upper story, the ground floor 
is his paint shop, ami the basement contains 
a wine cellar that would delight an epicure, 
the cobwebs of twenty-five years festooning 
bottles of Madeira ami brown sherry. But 
Mr. Whitcomb's great treasure is his collec- 
tion of antique curios, a collection which, if it 
should ever be sold, would bring more than 
compound interest on the money he has in- 
vested in it. He has rare engravings, books, 
china that would set a collector in a frenzy to 
possess it, photographs, medals commemorat- 



7° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ing events in the history of this country, and 
antique pictures so rare as to be almost price- 
less. On the easterly side of his dwelling is 
a room built of parts taken from an old house 
torn down in Hadley in 1889, the home of 
S. D. Smith, on Hadley's famous street, built 
in 1 7 14. It is an exact reproduction of a 
room n| nearly two centuries ago. The old 
strap hinges appear on the doors, the old locks 
and door latches are just as they were one hun- 
dred and eighty years ago, and so likewise are 
the mantel and fireplace. In one corner of the 
room is a corner closet that was in the home of 
Preserved Clapp, and set up as it was built by 
Roger Clapp one hundred and seventy-five 
years ago. The Clapps, it will be remem- 
bered, were Mr. Whiteomb's mother's family ; 
and their home, which was built in 1719, was 
on South Street, Northampton. In this room 
Mr. Whitcomb gives famous birthday parties; 
and the mayor and other city officials who have 
been his guests, and have tasted of his good 
cheer, can testify to the rare quality of his 
hospitality. Politically, Mr. Whitcomb be- 
lieves firmly in the principles of the Demo- 
cratic party. He is a close observer of 
national affairs, and is well versed in political 
economy, reading extensively on that subject. 
He has served as delegate to various conven- 
tions, representing city, county, and State. 
His only fraternal affiliation is with the Im- 
proved Order of Red Men. Mr. Whitcomb 
still enjoys the freedom of celibacy. 




BENEZER GOLDTHWAIT, one of the 
worthy and industrious agriculturists 
of Hampshire County, was born Jan- 
uary 20, 1 82 1, in South Hadley Falls. His 
father, also named Ebenezer Goldthwait, was 
born in the town of Granby, and there reared 
to manhood. Having gone to South Hadley 



Falls, he became an employee of the late 
Chester W. Chapin, driving the stage on the 
old route from South Hadley to Springfield. 
He subsequently went South, and for a few 
years was engaged as a stage driver at Rich- 
mond, Va. After his return to Springfield, 
he worked in the city stables for a time. 
Then he went to New Haven, Conn., where 
he spent his last years, dying in 1856. He 
was married three times. His first wife, 
Minerva Day, died in South Hadley in 1822, 
leaving two children: Ebenezer, the subject 
of this sketch; and George S., deceased. His 
second wife, whose maiden name was Esther 
Tibbie, died shortly after their marriage, 
leaving no issue. Almira Pardee, who be' 
came his third wife, was born at Rranford, 
Conn., and died in New Britain. She bore 
him six children: Esther M., E. Augusta, 
Helen M., Charles E., Phebe H., and I. 
Henry. 

Ebenezer, Jr., was the architect of his own 
fortune. By his untiring energy and sagacity 
and the diligent use of his opportunities he 
has steadily made his way toward the top rung 
of the ladder. After reaching his majority, 
he worked by the month for neighboring 
farmers for seven years. Then he went to 
Connecticut, and spent the next eight years at 
burnishing plated ware in a silversmith's shop 
in Glastonbury. Returning after that period 
to Granby, he purchased twenty-six acres of 
land; and later, having prospered with his 
first purchase, he invested in more land, mak- 
ing the total forty acres. Mr. Goldthwait 
devotes his entire attention to his property, 
and the result is visible in several marked im- 
provements. In politics he affiliates with the 
Republican party, but has never sought offi- 
cial favors. 

Mr. Goldthwait has been twice married. 
His first wife, Orpha C. Dickinson, a daugh- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



7' 



ter of Abncr Mosley and Ruth (Warner) Dick- 
inson and a sister of Mrs. Francis S. Steb- 
bins, died May 6, 1882. She left one daugh- 
ter, Clara, wife of Willard A. Taylor, a sketch 
of whose life will be found on another page. 
On October 10, 1SS3, Mr. Goldthwait married 
his second wife, Miss Dorothy A. Avery, a 
native of Northampton, born February 6, 
1832. Her father, Lyman Avery, was born 
in Wallingford, Conn., but afterward located 
in Easthampton, where he engaged in farm- 
ing, living there until his decease, December 
4, 1837. He married Rachel Clark, a life- 
long resident of Easthampton, and they be- 
came the parents of six children, namely: 
Julia Ann; Lysander Clark; Rachel Jane, 
deceased; Noyes Lyman, deceased; Dorothy 
A., Mrs. Goldthwait; and Lewis Lyman. 
Mr. and Mrs. Goldthwait are members of the 
Congregational church, and are active workers 
in religious circles. 



T^AHARLES E. HUMPHREY, a promi- 
I jp nent resident of Pelham and a member 

V^£__^ of the Board of Selectmen, was 
born in Boston, June 15, 1S50, and is son of 
Benjamin F. and Sarah (Howe) Humphrey. 
The grandfather of Mr. Humphrey, Noah 
Humphrey, was one of the early settlers of 
Pelham. He was a cabinet-maker, carried on 
a wood-turning business, and owned a good 
farm, which he worked to advantage. He 
subsequently moved to Oakham, Mass., where 
he died, at the age of eighty-nine. He was 
an active member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. His wife, Mary P. Humphrey, be- 
came the mother of eight children, of whom 
Benjamin F., Mr. Humphrey's father, is the 
youngest. She died at the age of eighty-two. 
Benjamin F. Humphrey was born in Pel- 
ham, and learned the trade of book-binder. 



He has enjoyed a long period of prosperity in 
that business, which he has carried on in 
Boston at 1 14 State Street, and later at 5 
Chatham Row. He still works at the trade, 
and is regarded as the oldest book-binder in 
Boston. He is a Unitarian in religion, and 
has supported the principles of the Republican 
party since its formation. His wife, Sarah 
H. (Howe) Humphrey, who was born in Bos- 
ton, has had three children: Frank H., who 
died at the age of fifteen; Susie G., who died 
at the age of eight; and Charles E., the sub- 
ject of this sketch. 

Charles E. Humphrey was educated in the 
schools of Cambridge, Mass. He learned 
the trade of a book-binder with his father, and 
continued to work in the finishing department 
of the business. In 1S85 poor health caused 
him to relinquish the trade and seek an occu- 
pation which would not require so much in- 
door confinement. He accordingly moved to 
Pelham, where he settled upon his present 
farm of sixty-five acres, and has since con- 
ducted general farming with success. Mr. 
Humphrey is actively interested in public 
affairs, and has served with ability in various 
town offices. At present, in addition to tin 1 
office already mentioned, he holds those of 
Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and superin- 
tendent of schools. He is independent in 
politics. On October 8, 1874, he was united 
in marriage to Eleanor B. Smith, daughter oi 
Lemuel and Mary Smith, of South Hadley 
Falls, now deceased. 



7TV\ I'TA IN CHARLES E. TILES 
I jp TON, a prosperous farmer of Will- 

v«~_^ iamsburg and a veteran oi the Civil 
War, son of Cornelius and Elvira (Williams) 
Tileston, was born in Williamsburg, Octobei 
20, 1829. His grandfather, Cornelius Tiles- 



72 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ton, Sr., was an early settler in Williamsburg, 
and resided upon the farm which is now 
owned by Mr. Breckenridge. He served as a 
private in the Revolutionary War, and died in 
Williamsburg at the advanced age of ninety- 
seven years. He married Sarah Ludden, of 
Williamsburg, and became the father of the 
following children: John, Sabra, Elisha, 
Wales, Betsey, and Cornelius. The mother 
died in her ninetieth year. 

Cornelius Tileston, Jr., Captain Tileston's 
father, was born in Williamsburg in 1798. 
He resided with his parents until reaching 
manhood, when he bought a farm, and en- 
gaged in agriculture. He also conducted a 
store and a hotel successfully, becoming in 
the course of time a prosperous business man. 
He was prominent in public affairs, serving 
with ability as Selectman and in other town 
offices. Cornelius Tileston, Jr., died at the 
age of sixty-four years. His wife, Elvira 
Williams, was a daughter of Gross and Mary 
(Washburn) Williams, and her eight children 
were named as follows: George; Madeline; 
Charles E. ; Henry; Faxon; Elizabeth; Ed- 
ward; and Mary Ann, who died young. 

Charles E. Tileston remained at home until 
he reached the age of twenty-two years, at 
which time he commenced to learn the car- 
penter's trade. After serving an apprentice- 
ship of three years, he has adopted that trade 
as his principal occupation, working for some 
time in New York, and also in Ohio. In the 
latter State he resided eight years, in which 
period he purchased some land and engaged 
in agriculture. In 1862 he enlisted in Com- 
pany I, Fifty-second Regiment, Massachusetts 
Volunteers, under Colonel H. S. Greenleaf; 
and at the organization of the company he 
was appointed its Captain. He served eleven 
months, and participated in the battles of 
Franklin and Port Hudson, La., under Gen- 



eral Banks, and at Jackson Cross-roads. 
After receiving his discharge, he returned to 
Williamsburg, and resumed his former occu- 
pation. He later engaged in farming upon 
the property he now occupies; and in 1866 
he built a new house, completing a new 
barn four years later. He carries on a small 
dairy, and is interested in the Co-operative 
Creamery. 

In 1 861 Captain Tileston was united in 
marriage to Maria Thayer. She was the 
daughter of Minot and Cynthia (Hill) 
Thayer, the father having been a well-to-do 
farmer and a highly respected citizen of Will- 
iamsburg. He died at an advanced age, leav- 
ing his farm of seventy acres to his daughter 
Maria. His other children were: Henry, 
Henry C, Cordelia, Willard H., Sarah B., 
Sedate M., Alvin E., Charles M., and Cyn- 
thia M. Mrs. Tileston's mother died at a 
ripe old age. Captain and Mrs. Tileston 
have one daughter, named Inez B., who, with 
her husband, G. H. Bisbee, resides with them 
upon the farm. 

Since taking possession of the farm, Cap- 
tain Tileston has improved the property, and 
added ten acres of adjoining land. He is a 
Republican in politics and a comrade of Post 
No. 86, Grand Army of the Republic, of 
Northampton. 

T^HARLES L. WARNER, a prosper- 
I jp ous farmer of Hatfield, was born at 

V ti? the Warner homestead, in this 

town, April 11, 1837, son of James W. and 
Lois B. (Longley) Warner. Mr. Warner is 
a descendant of Andrew Warner, one of the 
earliest inhabitants of Cambridge, Mass., as 
stated in Paige's History, residing there in 

1635, but selling his estate in December, 

1636, and moving to Connecticut. In 1659 
Andrew Warner settled in Hadley, Mass., 




CHARLES L. WARNER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



where he died in 1684. Among his children 
were: Andrew, Daniel, Isaac. Jacob, Robert, 
John, and Mary. 

Daniel Warner settled in Hatfield, where 
he owned the farm which is now in possession 
of S. F. Billings, and was here engaged in 
farming until his death. He married Martha 
Boltwood as his second wife, it is said, and 
had a large family of children, among whom 
may here be named: Mary, Daniel, Sarah, 
Andrew, Abraham, Anna, Kbenezer, and 
Elizabeth. Ebenezer, son of Daniel and 
Martha B. Warner, was born in Hatfield, 
and settled upon a farm in Belchertown, Mass. 
He married Ruth Ely; and his son Moses, 
who married Sarah Porter, was the father of 
Deacon Moses Warner, great-grandfather of 
Charles L. Warner. Deacon Moses Warner 
was born in Belchertown in 1754, was there- 
reared to farm life, and subsequently moved 
from Belchertown to Hatfield, where he 
bought the farm known as the Billings home- 
stead. On June 4, 1779, he married Mary 
King; and their children were: John, Elisha, 
Sarah, Mary, and Moses. 

John Warner, son of Deacon Moses, was 
born in Hatfield. In early manhood he was 
engaged in teaming between Hatfield and 
Boston, carrying produce to market, and re- 
turning with merchandise. He later entered 
mercantile business, and also conducted a 
farm. In 1806 he married Caroline Whiton, 
who was born in Lee, Mass., December 6, 
1786. They became the parents of seven chil- 
dren, as follows: Mary, John S., Jonathan 
D., Caroline R., Eliza, Lydia A., and James 
W. John Warner died in 1823. 

James W. Warner, son of John, and above 
named as the father of Charles L. Warner, 
was born in Hatfield, May 11, 1809. He set- 
tled on the homestead, and was a progressive 
and prosperous farmer. He died November 



20, 1891. He was a Democrat in politics. 
His wife, Lois B. Longley, whom he married 
March 30, 1S36, was born January 14, 18 16, 
and she became the mother of eleven children, 
namely: Charles L. ; Mary L., born Novem- 
ber 26, 1838, now the wife of W. D. Billings, 
of Hatfield; Sarah A., born March 26, 1841, 
now wife of C. B. Bardwell; Moses E., born 
February 3, 1843; Egbert S., born P'ebruary 
5, 1845; John A., born October 10, 1846, 
who married Elizabeth Bacon; James D., bom 
in 1849, wno married Hannah Buck; Benja- 
min M., born January 14, 1853, who married 
Ella E. Fitch; George W., born July 5. 
1855, who married Lillian Fisher; Caroline 
L., born February 15, 1858, now the wife of 
Arthur G. Holt; and Lewis W., who was 
born October 25, i860, and died in 1864. 
Mrs. James W. Warner died on January 10, 
1890. 

Charles L. Warner received his education 
in the schools of Hatfield, and resided with 
his parents until reaching the age of twenty- 
two years. He has since conducted farming 
on his own account. He is a leading tobacco 
grower, fifteen acres of his farm being devoted 
to that product, and his crop averaging one 
and one-half tons to the acre. He is a 
Republican in politics, and has served as a 
Selectman and an Assessor. 

In 1865 Mr. Warner was united in marriage 
to Maria E. Fitch, of Hatfield, daughter of 
John T. and Julia (White) Fitch. Mis. 
Warner's great-grandparents, Ebenezer and 
Abigail Fitch, were early settlers in Hat- 
field. Ebenezer Fitch was a surveyor, also a 
successful agriculturist, and was a prominent 
man in the town. He died in 1825, aged 
eighty-nine years, his wife having died in 
18 18, aged seventy-three. Mrs. Wan 
grandfather, John Pitch., was born in Hat- 
field, and followed general farming. A man 



7 6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of energy and enterprise, he erected a new 
house and barn, and remodelled his other farm 
buildings. He also bought the old White 
Tavern, which he moved back from the road 
to use for storage purposes, and which still 
stands as a landmark in the town. John Fitch 
died at the age of sixty-one years. His wife, 
Rachel Applebee, died in 1833, aged forty- 
seven. Their son, John T. Fitch, succeeded 
to the ownership of his father's place, becom- 
ing a prosperous farmer, and in his later years 
a very successful tobacco grower. He was a 
Republican in politics, and became prominent 
in public affairs, serving as a Selectman and 
an Assessor; and in 1862 he represented his 
district in the legislature. His wife, Julia 
White, whom he wedded March 3, 1842, was 
born May 17, 1821, daughter of Nehemiah 
and Sarah (Cogswell) White, the former of 
whom was a carpenter and cabinet-maker of 
Williamsburg. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
John T. Fitch were: Maria E., Mrs. Warner; 
and Herbert, who died aged three years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Warner have had three chil- 
dren, namely: Harry, born in 1867, who died 
at the age of six years; Edwin, born August 
11, 1872, who married Myra Field, and has 
one son, named Harold; and Luda F., born 
January 27, 1877, wno resides at home. 

The portrait, presented on an adjoining page, 
of the leading subject of the foregoing sketch 
will be of interest to the general reader as 
the likeness of a worthy representative of one 
of the first families of the historic old town 
of Hadley. 

ARRY P. OTIS, general superintend- 
ent of the Emery Wheel Company at 
Northampton, Mass., was born in 
Manchester, Conn., in 1853, son of General 
John Lord and Catherine (Preston) Otis. 
His grandfather, Hayden Otis, who was a res- 




ident of Lyme, Conn., was a seafaring man, 
engaged in fishing, and met his death by 
drowning in the Connecticut River when 
about sixty years of age. His wife, who was 
a Miss Lord, became the mother of ten chil- 
dren, six sons and four daughters, of whom 
two sons and a daughter are yet living. 

John Lord Otis, father of Harry P. Otis, 
was born in Lyme, Conn., in 1827. His 
childhood's days were brief, as he began to 
work in a cotton-mill when eight years of age. 
At that time there were no trades-unions to 
protect children, and he spent sixteen hours a 
day at his work. But his mental or physical 
growth was not stunted by this unnatural life, 
for his after career was an exceptionally brill- 
iant and successful one. When twenty-five 
years of age, he became one of a firm of stock- 
inet manufacturers in Manchester, Conn., with 
no capital but his experience. In 1861 he 
joined the troops going to the front, enlisting 
at Manchester, Conn. He entered the army 
as a Lieutenant, and at the end of his term of 
service bore the rank of General, and was sub- 
sequently brevetted Brigadier-general. He 
was in active service from 1S61 to 1864, and 
was twice wounded, his scars as well as his 
epaulets being visible proof that he had done 
his duty. In 1863 he located in Florence, 
Mass., and took charge of the Florence Ma- 
chine Works as superintendent. In 1867, in 
company with Lucien B. Williams, he estab- 
lished the emery wheel business in the same 
town. The plant was subsequently removed 
to Leeds, where the General continued in 
active business up to the time of his death, 
which occurred in March, 1894. He was a 
prominent Republican, and served three terms 
in the legislature, one of which was spent in 
the Senate. He was also on the Board of Se- 
lectmen of Northampton, and was a prominent 
Knight Templar. 



BIOGRAPHICAL R EV I EW 



77 



General Otis married Catherine Preston, 
daughter of Cyrus and Olive (Gleason) Pres- 
ton, all of South Hadley. Her grandfather, 
Samuel Preston, was also a native of South 
Hadley, and there spent his life, engaged in 
general farming. He lived to an advanced 
age, and reared a large family. Cyrus Pres- 
ton, maternal grandfather of Harry P. Otis, 
was a carpenter by trade, and for many years 
a contractor and builder in South Hadley. 
He reared, besides his daughter Olive, one 
son, Elbridge, who died in the prime of life, 
leaving a wife and child. Mrs. Otis resides 
at 19 Main Street, where her husband erected 
a home in 1866, and where, with the exception 
of one year spent in Leeds, she has resided 
ever since. She reared two sons: Harry P., 
the subject of this sketch; and Philip Arthur, 
who has charge of the company's emery goods 
and machinery at Chicago. 

Harry P. Otis graduated from the Massa- 
chusetts State Agricultural College in 1875, 
qualifying as a civil engineer. He entered 
the works of the Emery Wheel Company 
shortly after graduation, and has been ac- 
tively interested in that business ever since, 
eventually taking his father's place. He is 
general superintendent and director of the 
Northampton branch of the Emery Wheel 
Company's enterprise, occupying the former 
position for the past fifteen years. The pros- 
perous condition of the company's affairs and 
the length of Mr. Otis's continuous term of 
service together practically demonstrate his 
efficiency as manager. Mr. Otis is also Presi- 
dent of the Norwood Engineering Company. 

In November, 1883, Harry P. Otis was 
united in marriage with Nannie M., daughter 
of Charles W. and Sarah (Eldridge) Worth, 
of Nantucket. Of the union there have been 
born: Preston, a promising boy of ten; and 
Berenice, a little woman of eight years. 



Mr. Otis votes the Republican ticket, gen- 
erally is active in municipal affairs, and has 
served as Councilman, Alderman, and Clerk 
of Registry. He has a handsome and home- 
like residence at 104 North Main Street, 
which he purchased soon after marriage. 




HERIDAN E. BARRUS, a pros- 
perous farmer of Goshen and super- 
intendent of stone crushing, son of 
Loren and Lucinda S. (Naramore) Barrus, was 
born in Goshen, September 29, 1868. Mr. 
Barrus' s grandparents, Levi and Almeda 
(Stearns) Barrus, moved from Salem, Mass., 
to Goshen, where they were among the early 
settlers, and purchased four hundred acres of 
land. Levi Barrus was a member of the Bap- 
tist church and a Whig in politics. He died 
at the age of seventy-three. His children 
were: Hiram, Loren, Charles, Alvin, Laura, 
Jane, and Theron L. 

Loren Barrus, father of Mr. Barrus, was 
born May 31, 1825. He resided with his par- 
ents until reaching the age of twenty-fine, 
when he went to Cummington, where he en- 
gaged in the manufacturing of scythe handles. 
He subsequently worked in Ranney's turning- 
mill, and was also employed in plane-making. 
In 1857 he settled upon the Beals farm, and 
later purchased the Dawes property, where he 
resided until 1884, when he sold out, and 
bought the Shipman farm. Here, besides 
carrying on general farming, he operated a 
grist-mill that was on the premises. In 1862 
he enlisted as a private in the First Massachu- 
setts Cavalry, and served in the Civil War 
until October, 1864, when illness obliged 
him to go into hospital. Upon his recovery 
he acted for some time as ward master of the 
hospital. He is a Republican in politics, and 
has served as a Selectman and as Constable. 



78 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Loren Barrus's wife, Lucinda S. Naramore, 
daughter of Franklin and Wealthy P. (Par- 
sons) Naramore, whom he married June 5, 
1848, was horn in Goshen, December 10, 
1828. Their children were: Walter F., who 
died in infancy; Helen L., wife of W. O. 
Bartlett; Charles F., who married Minnie 
Hubbard, now deceased; Fred W., who died 
aged thirty-six; Anna L., who died at eigh- 
teen; Eva, wife of C. Frost; Sheridan E., the 
subject of this sketch; and Josephine R., wife 
of C. E. Hubbard. Levi Barrus and his wife 
are members of the Congregational church. 

Sheridan E. Barrus, after taking the usual 
course in the schools of Goshen, completed 
his education at Amherst College. At the 
age of twenty-one he bought an interest in his 
father's farm, and has since been engaged in 
general farming and dairying. They keep ten 
choice Jersey cows, use the separator, and 
manufacture a superior quality of butter, 
which they sell to regular customers. Mr. 
Barrus is a Republican in politics. He 
superintends the breaking and sorting of stone 
for use upon the State road, having under bis 
charge a force of twenty men. 

On November 14, 1894, Mr. Barrus was 
united in marriage to Jessie F. Patterson, 
daughter of William H. and Jane Patterson, 
and has one child, named Russell Winthrop, 
who was born August 7, 1895. 




I D WARD M. COBB, whose handsome 
property lies in the town of Chester- 
field, is a man of good business ca- 
pacity, much intelligence, and enterprise, and 
is deservedly prominent in the agricultural 
community. A native of Hampshire County, 
he was born May 20, 1833, in the town of 
Northampton, being a son of John and Electa 
(Bolyne) Cobb. His father was a native of 



Bridgewater, Mass., where he was engaged for 
a while in the manufacture of shoes, and also 
gave instruction in vocal music. After re- 
siding in this county for many years, attend- 
ing professional engagements in Hatfield and 
the surrounding towns, he died at Northamp- 
ton in i860. He was twice married. His 
first wife, formerly a Miss French, bore him 
nine children, two of whom are living. His 
second wife was Miss Bolyne, who survived 
him, making her home with her children until 
her decease, which occurred at the home of 
Mr. Cobb in 18S0. Three children were born 
to them, as follows: Edward M., the subject 
of this sketch; Lewis B., who married Miss 
L. Field, and now resides at South Deerfield; 
and Anna, who lived but eighteen months. 

Edward M. Cobb was educated in the com- 
mon schools of his native town. At the age 
of eighteen years he entered a broom-making 
establishment at Northampton, and worked 
there and in Holyoke for ten years. On Oc- 
tober 21, 1 86 1, inspired by patriotic ardor, he 
enlisted in Company G, under Captain R. R. 
Swift, of Chicopee, and was assigned to the 
Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteer In- 
fantry, commanded by Colonel H. C. Lee, of 
Springfield. The regiment was sent to the 
front, and participated in the battles of Roa- 
noke Island and Newbern. In the summer of 
1864 it was detached from the division at 
Norfolk, and Company G went back to North 
Carolina. On March 8, 1865, the entire com- 
pany was captured, and taken to Libby Prison. 
After spending three days here, it was sent to 
Annapolis, where Mr. Cobb was discharged 
June 26. On his return to civil life he en- 
gaged in his former occupation for two years, 
and then took charge of his present farm for 
one year. Then, after staying a short time in 
Northampton, he came to this town, and con- 
ducted the farm of his father-in-law for five 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



79 



years. After that he purchased his present 
estate, consisting of one hundred and twenty- 
five acres of rich and fertile land, in the care 
and cultivation of which since he has evinced 
much practical judgment and ability. He has 
brought the land to its present fine condition, 
and has made a most pleasant home for him- 
self and wife, as well as an attractive resort 
for their many friends. 

On the first day of May, 1868, Mr. Cobb 
was united in marriage with Mary A. Dady, a 
native of Northampton, born August 23, 1844, 
being the daughter of Liberty and Maria 
Dady. Mr. and Mrs. Dady lived in North- 
ampton until 1862, when Mr. Dady bought a 
farm in Chesterfield, where they spent the re- 
mainder of their years. He died in 1S84, and 
she followed him to the grave in 1895. In 
politics Mr. Cobb is independent, voting for 
the candidates who are, in his opinion, the 
best qualified for the positions to which they 
respectively aspire. He is a member of 
Northampton Post, No. 86, Grand Army of 
the Republic. Having been disabled by the 
exposure and hardships incident to his army 
life during the late war, he receives a pension 
from the government. 




HARLES H. UPSON, a prominent 
citizen of Easthampton, who has the 
i ' general superintendence of the ex- 
tensive buildings of the Williston Seminary, 
was born in Northampton in 1848, son of 
Justus and Caroline (Smith) Upson. His 
father was a native of Southington, Conn., 
born in 1803; and his mother was a native of 
Ludlow, Mass. His grandfather, Thomas 
Upson, was also a native of Connecticut, born 
about 1757. He gained a livelihood by till- 
ing the soil, and died on his farm at the age 
of eighty-three. Thomas Upson reared two 



sons and two daughters. One of the former, 
Edward Upson, was a well-known shipbuilder 
at Kennebunkport, Me. He also lived to a 
good age, dying in his seventieth year. He 
reared three sons and two daughters. 

Justus Upson, son of Thomas Upson and 
father of Charles H., was a carpenter, and fol- 
lowed his trade during the greater part of his 
life. In 1849 ne removed from Northampton 
to Easthampton, and there spent the rest of 
his days. He died at the home of his son, 
Charles H., in 1886, being then eighty- 
three years of age. His wife, to whom he 
was united in 1835, w r as the daughter of 
Martin Smith, of Ludlow, Mass. By her first 
husband, Mr. Chapin, she had one son, 
Stephen Chapin, now a resident of Springfield 
and a conductor on the Boston & Albany 
Railroad. Of her union with Mr. Upson the 
following children were born: Emma, widow 
of Ralph YVolcott, residing in Amherst; 
Lydia, who married Calvin Strong, and died 
in Easthampton in 1885, at the age of forty- 
two; Julia, wife of William Miller, of Tor- 
rington, Conn.; Alvin, who met his death 
through an accident in 1S58, when a boy of 
sixteen; and Charles H., the subject of this 
sketch. Mrs. Upson died in 1882. Mr. 
Upson was a member of the Congregational 
church, to which his wife also belonged. 

Charles H. Upson received a good common- 
school education in Easthampton, and finished 
his studies at Williston Seminary. He 
learned the carpenter's trade, and worked for 
E. R. Bosworth, a prominent builder of East- 
hampton, till 1883. He was then appointed 
superintendent of the Williston Seminary 
buildings, a position which he has efficiently 
filled up to the present time. This school is 
one of the largest institutions of the kind in 
the State. It was established with a generous 
endowment by Samuel Williston in 1S41, and 



So 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



four large brick buildings were built between 
1 84 1 and 1865. In 1892 the large hotel near 
by, a frame structure, was purchased, and 
added to the school property; and the old 
Williston home, now occupied by the princi- 
pal of the school, Dr. Gallagher, is also a part 
of the estate. The property comprises six 
acres of ground, and is situated in the heart 
of the city. Mr. Upson's position is no sine- 
cure, as on him devolves the care of the 
whole estate, the responsibility of making 
needed repairs, and the superintendence of all 
work necessary to keep the buildings and 
grounds in good condition. 

Mr. Upson was united in marriage June 1, 
1 87 1, to Mary M., daughter of Benjamin and 
Catherine (Foote) Dingman, of Stockbridge, 
Mass. Mr. Dingman and his wife are now 
nearly eighty years of age. They reared four 
daughters and one son. Mr. and Mrs. Upson 
are the parents of two children, namely: 
Grace F., wife of Henry G. Camp, teller in 
the Pyncheon Bank in Springfield; and Alvin 
L., a student in the Massachusetts College of 
Pharmacy, and assistant pharmacist in the 
Boston City Hospital. 

In politics Mr. Upson is a Republican. 
He takes an active part in the town govern- 
ment, and is now serving his fifth year as 
Selectman. In Masonic circles he is promi- 
nent, and is at present Past Master of Ionic 
Lodge of Easthampton. He has a handsome 
home at 3 Summer Street, where he has re- 
sided since 1886. 



{ ^TeORGE PITMAN MOULTON, a 
\ \2) I prosperous farmer of Pelham, son of 
Levi H. and Abbie (Pitman) Moul- 
ton, was born in that town, July 25, 1865. 
The Moulton family are of English descent; 
and the original ancestor, who emigrated to 



America, settled in Monson, Mass., residing 
in the locality known as Moulton Hill. Mr. 
Moulton's great-grandfather, Daniel Moulton, 
who was a son of the original settler, was 
born in Monson. He was reared to agricult- 
ural pursuits, and became the owner of a 
large farm situated upon Moulton Hill, which 
he cultivated successfully. He lived to be 
over eighty years of age, having raised a fam- 
ily of nine children. His son, Levi Moulton, 
Mr. Moulton's grandfather, was a native of 
Monson, and passed his youth upon his 
father's farm. He followed the occupation of 
a mechanic during his earlier years, and then 
devoted his attention to conducting boarding- 
houses in different localities. He reached 
the age of seventy-two, and his declining- 
years were passed with his son in Pelham. 
He married Nancy Farnham, a native of Ox- 
ford, Mass., and the union was blessed with 
six children, three of whom are still living, 
namely: Levi H.; Cyrus, who was born in 
Providence, R.I.; and Mary, who married 
Franklin Smith, and resides in Providence. 
The mother lived to the age of eighty-seven 
years. 

Levi H. Moulton, Mr. Moulton's father, 
was born in Charlton, May 7, 1822. When a 
young man, he adopted agriculture as an occu- 
pation, and has perseveringly followed it with 
satisfactory results. He has lived on three 
farms in Pelham at different periods, exhibit- 
ing in each the energy and industry for which 
he has always been remarkable. He now re- 
sides with his son, George P. Moulton, and is a 
Methodist in his religious views and a Repub- 
lican in politics. His wife, Abbie Pitman, 
whom he married on June 20, 1850, was born 
in South Kingston, R.I., November 22, 1824. 
She was daughter of George and Abbie (Nich- 
ols) Pitman, both of whom were natives of 
1 Rhode Island. George Pitman settled upon 




HOLLIS B. DeWlTT. 



BIOGRA I'H ICAL REV I F.W 



S3 




g)"|"OLLIS BENJAMIN DeWITT, whose 
portrait accompanies this brief biog- 
raphy, is a prosperous and progres- 
sive farmer of Granby, Mass., owning a valu- 
able farm of fifty-three acres in this town and 
another in South Hadley, besides being the 
proprietor of a livery stable in the village. 
A man of good practical ability, energetic and 
stirring from his youth, he visited different 
States, and engaged in various employments 
before settling down as a tiller of the soil in 



a farm in Pelham, where he followed agricult- 
ure successfully, and passed the remainder of 
his life. He raised a family of four children, 
one son and three daughters, of whom the 
only survivor is John Pitman, a resident of 
Pelham. Levi H. Moulton's children were: 
Abbie, who married Marcus Pease, and re- 
sides in East Douglass; George Pitman, the 
subject of this sketch; Martha A., wife of 
George Bowles, of Amherst; John B., who 
resides in Pelham: Levi II., Jr., a resident 
of Amherst; and Walter N., who died at the 
age of fourteen years and three months. The 
mother's decease occurred March 12, 1S79. 

George Pitman Moulton was reared to agri- 
cultural life, and has always resided at the 
homestead. At an early age he became pro- 
ficient in the various farm duties, and is now 
chiefly engaged in the cultivation of hay and 
grain. He displays an unusual amount of 
thrift and energy, which is productive of ex- 
cellent results. 

On June 27, 18S5, Mr. Moulton was united 
in marriage to Mrs. Jennie Cleveland, of Pel- 
ham, daughter of William and Martha (Allen ) 
Montgomery. They have one son, George 
William, who was born August 14, 1888. 
Mr. Moulton is a Republican in politics and 
liberal in his religious views. 



Hampshire County. He is a son of Ben- 
jamin DeWitt. and was born in Granby, Au- 
gust 26, 1829. His paternal grandfather, 
Joseph DeWitt, who was a native of Belcher- 
town, there married Lovisa Montague, and 
afterward settled on land in Granby, where both 
spent their remaining days. They reared five 
children — Joseph, Benjamin, Harrv, Clarissa, 
and Lucy — none of whom are now living. 

Benjamin DeWitt followed the occupation 
to which he was bred, buying and improving 
a tract of wild land in Granby, on which he 
and his wife passed their years of wedlock. 
He was prominent in military circles, being 
Colonel of a company of cavalry in the State 
militia. Colonel DeWitt married Mary, bet- 
ter known as Polly, Eastman, the daughter of 
Captain Joseph and Hannah (Lyman) East- 
man, her father being a well-to-do farmer of 
this town. Mrs. Polly Eastman departed this 
life on May 30, 1854, survived by her hus- 
band, who died October 15, 1S55. They 
were the parents of ten children, a brief record 
of whom is here given: Mary Ann, born Sep- 
tember 8. 1822, died November 15, 1827: 
Hannah E., born December 7, 1824, is the 
widow of the late Caleb S. Bliss, and resides 
with her children in Washington, D.C.; 
Helen M., born March 22, 1827, married Ad- 
dison S. Dickinson, of Granby, both being 
deceased; Hollis Benjamin; Mary Ann, born 
March 3, 1832, the widow of the late William 
H. Hayward, of Hadley, lives in Washington, 
D.C.; Clinton, who married Octavia Otie, 
was born August 6, 1S34, and is a resident of 
Lynchburg, Va. ; Sarah Jane, born September 
9, 1836, is the widow of Norman S. Stanner, 
and resides in Washington, D.C.; Louisa, 
born March 13, 1840, died January 2, 1S65; 
Martha E.. born December 10, 1843, died 
December 8, 1845: and William D., born 
July 12, 1846, died September 30, 1870. 



«4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Hollis B. DeWitt, who, with his brothers 
and sisters, was well educated at the district 
and select schools, remained at home until 
eighteen years of age, there acquiring a prac- 
tical knowledge of agriculture in its different 
branches. Desirous of perfecting himself in 
some trade, he went then to Chicopee, where 
he worked as a tinsmith for five years, going 
thence to Lynchburg, Va., and there continu- 
ing similarly engaged three years. In 1852 
Mr. DeWitt returned North, and for the next 
six months worked in Williamsburg, N.Y., 
whence he proceeded to Iowa, there spending 
some time in Independence and Waverly, sub- 
sequently going to Chickasaw County, where 
he entered four hundred acres of land. This 
he soon sold, and in 1854, coming back to the 
place of his birth, during that summer as- 
sisted on the home farm. The following six 
months Mr. DeWitt worked at his trade in 
Westfield; and then on the death of his father 
he returned to the old homestead, south-west 
of the village of Granby, and for a year took 
charge of the property. After another trip 
West, Mr. DeWitt settled down to farming, 
buying the old home farm in 1858, and carry- 
ing it on for two years. In i860 he disposed 
of that property, and bought a farm in South 
Hadley, known as the Hatfield farm, man- 
aging that successfully until 1865, when he 
sold out at an advance. In 1865 Mr. DeWitt 
purchased twenty-five acres of his present 
estate; and to his original purchase he has 
since added until his farm contains fifty-three 
fertile acres, on which he has made valuable 
improvements. 

On the 8th of April, 1857, while residing 
on the old home farm, Mr. DeWitt was 
united in marriage with Ellen E. Montague, 
a native of Granby, born November 27, 1833. 
Her parents were Giles and Elvira (Edwards) 
Montague, the former of whom was a lifelong 



resident of Granby, while the latter was born 
and reared in Northampton. Mr. Montague 
was a farmer by occupation, and after the 
death of his wife spent his time with his 
daughter Ellen, Mrs. DeWitt. Two children 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt: Ben- 
jamin, who now manages the farm, married 
Mary E. Stacey, and they have three chil- 
dren — Ellen Stacey, William Hollis, and 
Giles Rollin; Ellen Elvira, their other child, 
died in infancy. In politics Mr. DeWitt 
affiliates with the Republican party, and for 
five years served as Tax Collector. He is 
identified, socially, with the Masons, belong- 
ing to Mount Holyoke Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 
Religiously, both he and his estimable wife 
are faithful members of the Congregational 
church of South Hadley. 



TT^HAUNCEY WITHERELL, a re- 
I jj spected citizen of Chesterfield, who 
V«^_^^ at one time was actively engaged 
as a merchant and farmer, but is now in re- 
tirement, was born in Westhampton, Mass., 
November 17, 1822, son of Edsel and Sybil 
(Chilson) Witherell. 

Edsel Witherell was an independent farmer. 
He tilled a farm in Westhampton four years, 
and then moved to Chesterfield. Purchasing 
an estate in the southern part of the town, he 
there passed the remainder of his life, winning 
from the soil an ample income. He and his 
wife reared three children, namely: Chaun- 
cey, the subject of this sketch; Cordelia, wife 
of D. S. Axtell; and Sophronia, wife of Nor- 
man C. Rhodes. The latter two died some 
time since, and their husbands also are de- 
ceased. 

Chauncey Witherell received a good com- 
mon-school education. He remained with his 
parents during their lifetime, gradually as- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



85 



suming the responsibilities of the farm, until 
at length he had full charge. By unremitting 
industry and close attention to the details of 
business he acquired a modest fortune, and 
within ten years from the time that he took 
full charge of the home farm was able to re- 
tire, purchasing a lot in Chesterfield village, 
upon which he erected a comfortable home. 

On February 27, 1S43, Mr. Witherell was 
united in marriage with Asenath Bisbee, a 
native of Chesterfield, daughter of Elisha 
Bisbee, who was one of the early settlers of 
the town. Mrs. Witherell was a capable 
helpmate to her husband. Living at the 
home of her husband's parents after she was 
first married, she cared for them in their old 
age as tenderly as if they were her own par- 
ents. She died January 22, 1S93. Mr. and 
Mrs. Witherell had no children; but a nephew 
of the former resides with him, and superin- 
tends the work of the farm. 

Mr. Witherell is an adherent of the Repub- 
lican party. He has served as Selectman, 
and filled other official positions. Mrs. 
Witherell was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church in Chesterfield. What he 
owns he has well earned. It is but the re- 
ward of industry and a well-spent life. He 
may rest beneath the shadow of his own vine 
and fig-tree with the satisfied content born of 
duty fulfilled. 

)UKK BROWN WHITE, Postmaster 
and merchant at Bay State, was born 
at Whately, Mass., October 3, 
1864. He is the son of Samuel P. White, 
who was son of Luke Brown White, who was 
son of Deacon John White, who was son of 
Deacon Salmon White, the first member of 
the family to settle in Whately. The Whites 
are the lineal descendants of John White, who 
emigrated from England to the Colony of 




Massachusetts, and settled in Cambridge, 
where he was made a freeman in 1633. In 
1636 he removed to Hartford, Conn., where 
he became a ruling Elder in the South 
Church, and passed the remainder of his days. 
His son, Daniel White, resided at Hartford, 
Mass., where he married Sarah Crow, was a 
Lieutenant of militia, and died July 27, 171 3. 
Their son Daniel, who was born on July 4, 
1671, settled at Windsor, Conn. He was 
married three times, his first wife having 
been Sarah Bissell; his second, Anna Bissell; 
and the third, Elizabeth Bliss. His death 
occurred in 1726. His son, Captain Daniel 
White, resided at Windsor, Conn., from which 
place he moved to Hatfield, Mass., where he 
died in 1786. His first wife was Mary Dick- 
inson, his second Elizabeth White; and his 
son Salmon, who was baptized October 31, 
1731, became the original settler of the farm 
known as the Luke B. White place in 
Whately, which has been in the family's pos- 
session since 1762. He married Mary Waite, 
was a Deacon in the church, a leading spirit 
in the community, and died June 21, 1815. 
His wife survived him until the same date 
in 1 82 1, when she passed away, at the age of 
ninety-one years. They had four sons and 
four daughters, of whom John White was the 
paternal great-grandfather of Luke B. White, 
of this article. He married Elizabeth Brown, 
of Worcester, who brought to Whately the 
first chaise; and she died in 1853, aged 
eighty-three years, having been the mother of 
ten children — three sons and seven daugh- 
ters. Of these Luke B. was born on May 8, 
1797, wedded Mary Wells, daughter of ( 
tain Luke Wells, and raised a family of si\ 
children, of whom two are living, namely: 
Mary E., born in 1834, widow of O. D. R 
M.D. ; and John Newton White, a farmer 
of Ea.-.t Whately. who was born in 1838. 



86 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



L. B. White attended the schools of his na- 
tive town, and at the age of sixteen became a 
clerk in the store of P. D. Willis & Co. at 
Thompsonville, Conn. After spending one 
year there, he took a similar position with 
C. D. Waite at Haydenville, Mass., holding 
it for about the same length of time. Then 
he came to Northampton, where he entered 
the employ of E. E. Hart. Five years later 
he went to Springfield, and for some three 
years was clerk with B. Frank Steele & Co. 
At the end of this time he returned to Bay 
State, and, in company with his brother, 
Charles W. White, purchased the stock and 
trade of his former employer, E. E. Hart, in 
September, 1890. Two years later he bought 
out his brother's interest, and has since con- 
tinued to carry on the business, which is now 
well established and exceedingly profitable. 

On September 10, 1886, he was united in 
marriage to Miss Jennie E. Wetherbee, of 
Landgrove, Vt., and the union has resulted in 
two children: Edna Emily, aged seven; and 
Charles Herbert, aged four years. Mr. White 
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows and of the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen. He is independent in politics, 
and is at present serving on the Common 
Council, having been elected upon the Repub- 
lican ticket. He has been Postmaster for the 
past five years, and has resided at his present 
comfortable home since 1892. His father 
died in 1882; and his mother, who is still 
bright and active, resides with her sons. 



tDOLPH FR. 
physician o 
^_ of Adol 



RANZ, M.D., a well-known 
f South Hadley Falls, son 
lph and Eliza (Birnie) 
Franz, was born in Washington, D.C., July 
26, 1862. Dr. Franz's father was a native of 
Mecklenburg, Germany, and emigrated to the 



United States in 1849. He was for a short 
time after his arrival engaged as a grocer's 
clerk in New York City. In 1850 he enlisted* 
in the regular army, joining Company B, 
Third United States Infantry, which was 
stationed in New Mexico, and was engaged in 
Indian warfare until the commencement of the 
Civil War. The regiment was then ordered 
to Washington, and from there to the front, 
arriving in time to participate in the second 
battle of Bull Run. In 1862 Adolph Franz, 
Sr., was assigned to duty in the War Depart- 
ment in Washington, where he remained until 
1869, when he received the appointment of 
Orderly Sergeant, and was once more sent to 
New Mexico. After remaining there for a 
time, he was transferred to Fort Jackson, La., 
then to Fort Jackson, Ga., and finally to Fort 
Constitution, N.H. Here he continued to 
serve until December 12, 1890, at which time 
he was retired, with an honorable record of 
forty years of continuous service in the United 
States Army. He now resides in Brooklyn, 
N.Y. His wife, whom he wedded on June 
21, 1S61, is of Irish ancestry. She is the 
mother of two sons, namely: Adolph, Jr., the 
subject of this sketch; and Frederick H., who 
is now engaged in the jewelry business in 
Attleboro, Mass. 

Adolph Franz pursued a collegiate course 
at Dartmouth College. At its completion he 
entered the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons in New York City, where he graduated 
in 1887. Then he supplemented his medical 
studies with a period of practical observation 
in the hospitals of the metropolis. In De- 
cember, 1887, Dr. Franz located in South 
Hadley Falls, where he has since established 
a lucrative practice. By his skilful handling 
of cases he has acquired a high reputation both 
in Hadley and South Hadley Falls. He is 
also esteemed socially for his many and admi- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



87 



rable character traits. On June 11, 1890, he- 
was united in marriage to Louise M. Norton, 
of Portsmouth, X.H. They have three chil- 
dren: Dorothy, Louise, and Frederick. Both 
attend the Roman Catholic church. He is 
independent in politics. 



"C^/lLLIAM 
V£V_ princi] 



AM A. BARRUS, of Goshen, 
ipal of the Hampshire and 
Franklin County Truant School, is 
the son of Deacon Theron L. and Czarina A. 
(Robinson) Barrus, and was born in Goshen, 
October 2, 1857. His grandparents, Levi 
and Almeda (Stearns) Barrus, moved from 
Heath, Mass., to Goshen, where the former 
purchased four hundred acres of land, and 
began farming on an extensive scale. Levi 
was a member of the Baptist church, a 
Whig in politics, an energetic farmer, and a 
progressive citizen. He died at the age 
of eighty-four years. His children were: 
Hiram, Loren, Charles, Alvin, Laura, Jane, 
and Theron L. 

Theron L. Barrus, father of William A., 
was born at the old homestead in Goshen, 
September 1, 1S29. At the age of twenty- 
one he commenced work in the turning shop 
of Ranney & Gage, and subsequently engaged 
in plane-making. He gave only the summer 
months to these occupations, as he still pur- 
sued his studies during the school season. 
After completing his education, he taught in 
the district schools for nine terms, devoting 
the summer season to agriculture. His first 
investment in real estate, known as the Red 
House, included twenty acres of land, situated 
in the vicinity of his present residence. 
Here he resided for a time, devoting his ener- 
gies to farming and the making of ladders. 
Then he bought the Cushman farm of eighty 
acres, and later the Parsons property, com- 



prising one hundred acres, on which he now 
resides. He has remodelled the buildings, 
keeps a dairy of ten cows, and has otherwise 
improved the farm, which he cultivates suc- 
cessfully. He joined the Congregational 
church when a young man, and at the age of 
twenty-five was made a Deacon, a position 
which he still holds. He is a Republican in 
politics, and has been a member of the School 
Board for twenty years. In 1852 he married 
Czarina N. Robinson, daughter of James and 
Adeline (Randall) Robinson, born December 
27, 1831. They had five children, as follows : 
James L., Willie A., Mary A., Edward F., 
and Lyda E. The mother died May 6, 1895. 
William A. Barrus received his education 
in the schools of his native town; and at the 
age of eighteen he engaged in agriculture as 
an occupation, which he followed for some 
years. He was later employed in Swift River 
as a plane-maker and wood polisher, at which 
business he continued for two years. In 1885 
he purchased the Russ farm in Goshen, con- 
sisting of one hundred and fifty acres. Since 
then, besides making other improvements in 
the property, he has remodelled the buildings, 
and has conducted general farming, together 
with dairying, for which he keeps eight 
graded Jersey cows. He owns an interest in 
the Ashfield Co-operative Creamery, and has 
furnished teams for the construction of the 
State road. On October 1, 18S9, Mr. Barrus 
was appointed principal of the Hampshire and 
Franklin County Truant School, and has 
since filled that position to general satisfac- 
tion. In this capacity he has fitted up a suite 
of dormitories, which are well lighted and 
ventilated, and provided a yard for outdoor 
exercise. Mr. Barrus was united in marriage 
on October 5, 18S1, to Lucy M. Hall, daugh- 
ter of Allen and Olive (Howe) Hall, of Ash- 
field. They have three children, namely: 



S8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Alice E., born October 5, 1882; Myrtle E., 
born March 5, 1887; and Ida E., born August 
12, 1889. Mr. Barrus is a Republican in 
politics. 



w* 



[LSON DEWEY, the worthy octo- 
genarian whose portrait is here in 
view, a retired citizen of Hayden- 
ville, was born in Granby, Conn., July 1, 
181 5, son of Aaron, Jr., and Lovisa (Gillett) 
Dewey. Mr. Dewey's paternal grandparents, 
Aaron, Sr., and Beadee (Gillett) Dewey, were 
lifelong residents of Granby. Grandfather 
Dewey, who was a well-to-do farmer, was a 
Whig in politics, and was a member of the 
Baptist church. Both he and his wife died at 
a ripe old age. Their children were: Aaron, 
Jr., Beadee, and Theda. 

Aaron Dewey, Jr., was born in Granby in 
1 791, and died at the age of forty-five years. 
He was educated in the schools of his native 
town; and in early manhood he inherited part 
of the homestead, and purchased additional 
land till he had a farm of one hundred acres. 
He was a Whig in politics and a Baptist in 
his religion. He and his wife, whose name 
before marriage was Lovisa Gillett, became 
the parents of eight children, as follows: 
William, Mary, Watson, Wilson, Willis, 
Susan, Laura, and Wayne, the last of whom 
died young. Mrs. Lovisa G. Dewey married 
for her second husband a Mr. Stone, and died 
at the age of seventy-two. She was a member 
of the Congregational church at the time of 
her death. 

Wilson Dewey received his education in 
Granby, and at the age of eighteen began 
work in a brass foundry, where he was em- 
ployed in making andirons, fire shovels, and 
tongs by hand for twelve years. He then en- 
gaged in the carpenter's trade with his brother 
Watson, and, being a natural mechanic, soon 



developed into a skilled workman. He later 
relinquished the carpenter's trade to engage 
in manufacturing wagons and sleighs at North 
Granby; and, a short time after, he, in com- 
pany with his brother Willis, purchased that 
business, to which they added the manufact- 
uring of coffins. They conducted the enter- 
prise successfully for seven years, at the ex- 
piration of which they sold to good advantage. 
In the mean time Mr. Dewey had bought a 
house in Granby, which he improved to a con- 
siderable extent; but this he later disposed 
of, and bought a farm. He followed agricult- 
ure for two years, and then went to Collins- 
ville, Conn., where he was employed for seven 
months in finishing bayonets. From that 
place he moved to Northampton, Mass., and 
was similarly employed for another seven 
months. He later became Postal Clerk upon 
the route from New Haven to Northampton. 
Some years previous to this he was financially 
interested in the wholesale and retail fruit and 
produce firm of Dewey & Pratt. Later buy- 
ing his partner's interest in the business, he 
admitted his son Mortimer as a partner; and 
the firm of Dewey & Son conducted an exten- 
sive business for some time. Mr. Dewey re- 
linquished mercantile business to enter the 
postal service, later being transferred to the 
Williamsburg route, on which he remained for 
fourteen years, and then retired. 

Mr. Dewey is a Republican in politics, and 
is active in public affairs. He has been a 
member of the Board of Selectmen for three 
years, and he represented his district in the 
legislature in 1888. He is Vice-President 
and a Director of the Haydenville Savings 
Bank. He was made a Free Mason in 
Granby, and is now a member of Hampshire 
Lodge, and also of the Chapter and Council. 
He became a charter member of the lodge of 
Odd Fellows in Granby, of which he was Past 




WILSON DEWEY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



9 1 



Grand and District Deputy; but that lodge is 
now extinct. In 18S4 Mr. Dewey bought the 
Briggs house, which is pleasantly located on 
West Main Street, Haydenville; and he has 
since resided here with the exception of a 
short time passed in Boston. 

On September 28, 1S41, Mr. Dewey was 
united in marriage with Mary M. Spencer, 
who was born in New Hartford, Conn., daugh- 
ter of Milton and Amanda (Garrett) Spencer. 
Mrs. Dewey's grandparents were Nathaniel S. 
and Louis (Steele) Spencer, the former of 
whom was a large real estate owner and an ex- 
tensive manufacturer of wagons and sleighs in 
New Hartford. He built the first two-horse 
covered carriage, or " bus," ever seen in his 
neighborhood, and was complained of by the 
deacons for driving his family to church in 
the new vehicle, which created considerable 
excitement on the Sabbath day. Nathaniel 
Spencer served as a soldier in the Revolution- 
ary War: and his son Milton, Mrs. Dewey's 
father, served in the War of 1S12. Milton 
Spencer was born in New Hartford, and be- 
came a prosperous farmer of that town. He 
lived to the age of eighty-six years. His 
wife, Amanda Garrett, who attained the same 
age, was the mother of eight children: flora, 
Orvilla, Mary M., Harlow, Ralzy, John, 
W.iite, and Theda. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dewey have had five chil- 
dren, as follows: Mortimer A., who married 
Georgie A. Wilcox, and died April 7, 1882, 
leaving two children — Fred W., who married 
Charlotte Crane, and is a boot and shoe mer- 
chant of Northampton, and Grace, wife of 
John Ross; Ella J., who died aged fourteen 
months; Eva L., who died at the age of five 
years; Carrie, who died aged seven years; 
and Everett H., who was born January 23, 
1857, and is now occupying his father's 
former position in the postal service. 



TT"^\K'HARD F. UNDERWOOD, an 
I "^rj teemed citizen of Northampton, who 

i-^ 3 V_ ^ owns and cultivates a farm at Mount 
Tom Station, was born in Belchertown, Mass., 
March 11, 1842, son of Charles and Abilene 
(Bennett) Underwood. 

His grandfather, Urijah Underwood, was a 
farmer in Wales, Hampden County. lie was 
killed by a fall when quite an old man, and 
his remains rest in the churchyard at Wales. 
He married a Miss Staunton, who lived to see 
many of her neighbors and kinsfolk pass 
away, dying of old age in 1857. They reared 
five sons and four daughters, of whom two 
daughters and a son are vet living. The 
daughters are widows, residing in Mashapaug, 
Conn. ; and the son, William Underwood, is 
a spinner in a woollen factory in Wales. 
Urijah Underwood was a member of the Bap- 
tist church, officiating many years as Deacon. 

Charles L T nderwood, son of Urijah Under- 
wood and father of Richard F., was born in 
Woodstock, Conn., in 1S01. He spent his 
entire life on his farm, dying November 1, 
1875, at the age of seventy-four. On Decem- 
ber 30, 1824, he was united in marriage to 
Abilene, daughter of Joseph and Esther 
(Green) Bennett, who was born in 1809. 
Mrs. Underwood's grandparents on the mater- 
nal side were Nathaniel and Sarah (May) 
Green. Her grandfather, Nathaniel Green, 
was one of the first patriots who suffered in 
defence of his country, being wounded at the 
battle of Bunker Hill. Her father also, Jo- 
seph Bennett, was a Revolutionary soldier, 
and received a pension for his services. 
She died in 1889, and is resting with her 
husband in the cemetery at Belchertown. Mr. 
and Mrs. Underwood had eight children, seven 
of whom reached maturity, namely: Emily, 
wife of E. I. Allen, of Westfield, Mass.: 
Mary, wife of D. M. Olds, of Belchertown , 



9 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Richard F., the subject of this sketch; Emma 
J., wife of William Johnson, of Westfield; 
Harriet L., subsequently Mrs. Beebe, who 
died at the age of twenty-six; Charles S., 
who died in September, 1875, at tne age of 
forty-three; and Albert W., who died in 
1888, leaving one son. 

Richard F. Underwood attended the dis- 
trict school regularly until eight years of age. 
After that he worked on the farm during the 
busy season, attending school in winter only. 
In December, 1861, when in his twentieth 
year, he enlisted at Belchertown in Company 
F, Thirty-first Massachusetts Regiment, and 
served four years in the Civil War, the 
greater part of which time he was in active 
service. He took part in the Red River cam- 
paign, his regiment then being the Sixth 
Massachusetts Cavalry, and on April 8, 1864, 
was shot through the right leg. He was 
among the one hundred and one disabled 
soldiers who, left for a time in New Orleans, 
were shipped on board the steamer "Poca- 
hontas" to be sent to New York City. The 
" Pocahontas" was run down by another vessel 
in the night, and forty of the poor fellows 
found a watery grave. Mr. Underwood will 
never forget the experience of that night. 
The vessel went down soon after she was 
struck. He and many of the men were strug- 
gling for a long time in the water. They 
clung to everything they could lay hold of to 
keep themselves afloat. For some time, 
while holding afloat with one hand, Mr. Un- 
derwood tried to save a man with the other 
hand by holding on to his beard, but was at 
length compelled to release his hold. During 
the whole of the struggle he was cool and 
composed, and felt no pain in his wounded 
limb. The physical suffering came later, 
when feeling returned to his benumbed frame. 

During his term of service in the army Mr. 



Underwood saved up some one thousand one 
hundred dollars. A patent-right man, who 
induced him to go to Ohio, swindled him out 
of one-half of the sum. He returned to 
Belchertown with more wisdom, if less 
money, and went to work for his brother-in- 
law at twenty-five dollars a month. Later he 
worked for one dollar and a half a day, when 
it took nine days' work to pay for a barrel of 
flour, and kerosene was seventy-five cents a 
gallon. About this time he purchased a farm 
of one hundred and fifty acres below Mount 
Tom Station, and there he has since made his 
home. His business is general farming, 
which he carries on in a sensible and practical 
way. He is President of the Farmers' Club 
of Easthampton. He has a handsome, large 
two-story house, finished in the finest hard 
maple, cherry, Cyprus, and oak, which he 
erected in 1892-93, when he performed most 
of the work himself, cutting the trees in Mon- 
tague, and floating the lumber down the river. 
He is a man of considerable mechanical gen- 
ius, who can turn his hand to almost any- 
thing; while his dwelling bears high testi- 
mony to his good taste. 

On December 28, 1S69, Mr. Underwood 
was united in marriage with Leona, daughter 
of E. A. and Sophronia (Pease) Lyman. 
Mrs. Underwood's mother was before marriage 
Clarissa Cook, a native of Chester, now Hun- 
tington, Mass. Both parents are deceased, 
the father dying in 1880, aged sixty-seven 
years, and the mother in 1891, aged seventy- 
nine years. Mrs. Underwood, who was a 
rarely intelligent woman, a model wife and 
mother, died April 11, 1894, in her forty-fifth 
year. They had eight children, of whom six 
survive. Lewis F. in his third year died of 
the bite of a rabid dog, and Walter A. died 
when thirteen months old. The remaining 
children are as follows: Laura K., who is her 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



93 



father's housekeeper; Charles L., who is an 
able assistant on the home farm; Arthur J., a 
pupil in the Easthampton High School; Mat- 
tie Louise, a child in years, but a woman in 
stature and in character, who rides her bicycle 
with the ease and skill of a professional: 
William Albert and Chella Maria, aged re- 
spectively thirteen and eight years. Mr. 
Underwood took for his second wife Miss 
Myra L. Clark, to whom he was united in 
marriage October 9, 1895. She is a daughter 
of K. Alonzo Clark, a native of Easthampton. 
Mi'. L'nderwood favors the Republican 
party, but is an independent voter. He is a 
comrade of William L. Baker Post, No. 86, 
Grand Arm}' of the Republic. He was a 
I ii icon in the First Congregational Church 
for many years. He is an extensive reader 
and an original thinker, an advocate of "the 
test good for the greatest number," and a 
loyal supporter of law and order. 




I 



lHARLES KINGMAN BREWSTER, 

a prominent business man of Worth- 
ington, was born in that town. July 
11, 1843, son of the Hon. Elisha Huntington 
and Sophronia Martha (Kingman) Brewster. 
Mr. Brewster is a lineal descendant of 
Elder Brewster, the leader of the ■"Mayflower" 
Pilgrims, who landed at Plymouth, December 
2i, 1620, and died in Duxbury, April 18, 
1643. His children were: Fear, Patience, 
Jonathan, Love, and Wrist] ing. Jonathan 
Brewster settled in New London in 1649, and 
became an Associate Judge there. He estab- 
lished a treaty post at what was known as 
Brewster's Neck, where he resided for the 
remainder of his life, and died in 1661. His 
son, Benjamin Brewster, married Ann Dart, 
and raised a family of five children, who were 
named: Ann, Jonathan, Daniel, William, and 



Benjamin. Daniel Brewster, who was born 
in 166", married Hannah Gager; and his 
eight children were: Daniel, Jr., Hannah. 
Mary, John, Jerusha, Ruth, Bothiah, and Jon- 
athan. Daniel Brewster married for his sec- 
ond wife Dorathy Miller, and died May 7, 
'735- Jonathan Brewster, son of Daniel, was 
born June 6, 1705. He married Mary Parish, 
and had seven children: Lucretia, Ruth, 
Ephraim, Jonathan, Mary, Lydia, and Han- 
nah. Deacon Jonathan Brewster was born in 
1734. He moved from Preston, Conn., to 
Worthington, Mass., in 1777, and erected a 
rude dwelling upon a site winch is now in- 
cluded in the property of Samuel Converse. 
He died in 1S00. Deacon Jonathan Brewster 
married Zipporah Smith: and his eight chil- 
dren were: Elisha, Esther, Jonathan, Zip- 
porah, Sarah, Jonah, Moses, and Lydia. 

Captain Elisha Brewster, Charles K. Brews- 
ter's grandfather, was born in Preston in 
1755. He enlisted in a regiment of light 
dragoons at an earl)- stage of the Revolution- 
ary War, and served as an officer for seven 
years and six months. After the close of 
the war he served as Brigade Quartermaster. 
At the time of Shays's Rebellion he volun- 
teered his services, and was one of General 
Shepard's aides in that insurrection. Captain 
Elisha Brewster married Sarah Huntington, 
daughter of the Rev. Jonathan Huntington, 
wlni was the first settled minister in Worth- 
ington. They were the parents of twelve chil- 
dren, among whom were: Theodosia, Minerva, 
Sally, Hannah, Eliza, Zipporah, Hannah 
(second), Lucy, and Elisha Huntington. 

The Hon. Elisha Huntington Brewster, Mr. 
C. K. Brewster's father, was born in Worth- 
ington, August 5, 1S09. lie was educated in 
the public schools and at Hopkins Academy, 
and remained for several years upon his 
father's farm. In 1842 he removed to the 



94 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



centre village, and located a little smith of 
the church and town-house, where he com- 
menced mercantile business in company with 
his cousin, Mr. Sidney Brewster, under the 
firm name of S. & E. H. Brewster. That co- 
partnership continued ten years, when it was 
dissolved, Mr. E. H. Brewster retiring to at- 
tend to his increasing public duties. In 1848 
he was chosen as a Whig to represent his town 
in the legislature; and again, in 1853, he was 
chosen to the same office. In 1852 he was 
elected County Commissioner, and held that 
office sixteen years. For twelve years he was 
chairman of the board, and distinguished 
himself by his excellent judgment and the 
aptness and faithfulness with which he dis- 
charged the difficult and often perplexing 
duties of the position. At the end of his six- 
tieth year (in 1868), when at the height of his 
popularity and usefulness, he voluntarily 
withdrew from that office, declining the offer 
of a certain re-election, much to the regret of 
the people of the county. In 1 87 1 he was 
chosen a member of the State Senate, to rep- 
resent the Berkshire and Hampshire district. 
In 1873 he was chosen a member of the Gov- 
ernor's Council, and was re-elected in 1874. 
This closed his public life. 

In his earlier business years he was often 
called to fill various town offices, and served 
in almost every capacity, from Constable to 
Selectman. He could have served oftener if 
he had wished, for his townsmen were always 
willing to elect him. He was also the leading 
Justice of the Peace, and was appointed one 
of the first Trial Justices under the new law, 
holding the office and discharging its duties 
with marked ability and dignity until he re- 
signed it several years ago. He was often 
called as a referee to settle disputed ques- 
tions, both at home and abroad; and after his 
retirement from the Board of County Commis- 



sioners his services were frequently sought as 
counsel in important road cases. He was the 
principal legal adviser of the people in his 
section, wrote numerous wills, and settled 
many estates in the probate and insolvency 
courts, doing more of that business probably 
than any other man in the county. 

While a member of the Governor's Council, 
he was one of a committee to receive General 
Grant, who came on an official visit to the 
State. He was active in the formation of 
the Worthington Agricultural Society over 
twenty-five years ago, and was its first Presi- 
dent. He was long connected with the old 
Northampton Institution for Savings as one of 
its Trustees, and for twenty years (1848 to 
1868) was one of the Directors of the Hamp- 
shire Mutual Fire Insurance Company, exert- 
ing in their behalf an active and valuable in- 
fluence. When his son, Charles K. Brewster, 
became of age, the two formed a copartner- 
ship, and bought out the mercantile business 
of S. Brewster & Son; and that business was 
continued until his death, under the firm name 
of E. H. Brewster & Son. 

Mr. Brewster was first a Whig and then a 
Republican. Though a strong party man, he 
never allowed his party ties to lessen his loy- 
alty to his friends. He was a regular attend- 
ant upon divine worship and a firm supporter 
of the services of the sanctuary. For thirty 
years he was a member of the choir, and occa- 
sionally acted as chorister. During the long 
pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Bisbee, twenty- 
eight years, Mr. Brewster was his warm 
friend and supporter and his frequent adviser. 
He never formally united with the church, 
but he had an abiding faith in its underlying 
principles; and his old pastor bore heartfelt 
testimony at the funeral to his Christian 
character as exemplified in his pure and con- 
sistent life and peaceful death. The Hon. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



95 



Elisha H. Brewster died in Worthington, No- 
vember 2j, 1878. His wife, whom he mar- 
ried June 8, [831, was Sophronia Martha 
Kingman, daughter of Isaiah Kingman, of 
Worthington. Her grandfather, Adam King- 
man, was a native of Bridgewater, Mass. : and 
her father, who was a tailor by trade, kept a 
hotel for many years in the house where Mr. 
Brewster now resides. His son, Samuel 
Kingman, was Chief Justice of the State of 
Kansas for a number of years. Mrs. Elisha 
II. Brewster became the mother of seven chil- 
dren: Sarah, Elisha K., Lucy Jane, Sophronia 
K., Charles K., Helen E., and Isabelle W. 
Of these the only survivors are: Charles K., 
the subject of this sketch; and Mrs. George 
M. Green, of New York City. 

Charles Kingman Brewster was educated at 
the Westfield Academy, and, when a young 
man, engaged in business with his father. 
He exhibited an aptitude for mercantile pur- 
suits at an early age, and since the death of 
his father has continued the business with 
ability and success. He is a Republican in 
politics, and has long been identified with 
public affairs. He was Postmaster from 1883 
to 1888, has been a member of the Board of 
Selectmen, Town Clerk, and Treasurer for 
eight years, and is at present a special County 
Commissioner. He also represented his dis- 
trict in the legislature for one term. He is a 
Director of the Northampton Institution for 
Savings and of the Hampshire Fire Insurance 
I '"inpany. He is a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity and an influential man in the county. 

On February 22, 1866, Mr. Brewster was 
united in marriage to Celina S. Baldwin. 
Her parents were Chauncey and Harriet 
(Hume) Baldwin, natives of Windsor, Mass. ; 
and her father was a prosperous farmer of that 
town. Mr. and Mrs. Brewster have had seven 
children, as follows: Sophronia E., who was 




born December 26, 1866, and died April 1 ;, 
1870; Grace, born March 9, 1869, who died 
March 22, 1873: Elisha II., born September 
10, 1871, who graduated from the Williston 

Seminar)', and is now a student at the Boston 
University Law School; Sarah 1L, born 
March 6, 1874, who is now a teacher in Tem- 
ple College, Philadelphia; Charles II., born 
February 14, 1877; Howard C, born Decem- 
ber 24, 1880; and Kingman, born December 
24, 1883. 

LONZO H. WARREN, proprietor of 

the Williams House. Williamsburg, 
and a veteran of the Civil War, was 
born in Conway, Franklin Count)-, Mass., Jan- 
uary 1, 1841, son of William and Jane (Bige- 
low) Warren. Mr. Warren's grandparents 
were Samuel and Abigail Warren, the former 
of whom was an old resident of Conway. He 
owned a good farm, which he cultivated with 
good results, and devoted a great deal of time 
and attention to the raising and fattening of 
cattle tor the market, in which he was quite 
successful. He was a Whig in politics and 
a Congregationalist in his religion. Samuel 
Warren died in Conway at the age of seventy- 
five years, and his wife also lived to an ad- 
vanced age. They were the parents of six 
children : William, Samuel, Ephraim, Esther, 
Martha, and Rebecca. 

William Warren, father of Mr. Warren, 
was born in Conway. He received a district- 
school education, and in early manhood pur- 
chased a farm which was located in the north- 
ern part of the town of Conway. -After 
following agriculture there for a time he 
bought in the vicinity of Bardwell's Ferry a 
saw and grist mill, which he operated sua 
fully for a number of years. These mills were 
destroyed by a flood, and their site is now 
occupied by the Eldridge Mills. Mr. William 



9 6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Warren was originally a Whig, later a Repub- 
lican, ant] was esteemed as a man of much 
public spirit. He died at the age of fifty-five 
years. His wife was the mother of six chil- 
dren : William, Francis, Philena, Elizabeth, 
Alonzo H., and Mary. She died aged fifty- 
nine years. 

Alonzo II. Warren attended the district 
schools of his native town. In 1 86 1 he en- 
listed as a private in Company H, Tenth 
Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, under the 
command of Colonel Briggs. He was detailed 
to serve at brigade headquarters as a teamster, 
in which capacity he continued for three years, 
and was discharged July 6, 1864. He re- 
turned to his native town, where he rented a 
farm; and after engaging in agriculture for a 
time entered the employ of the New Haven & 
Massachusetts Central Railroad Company, as 
overseer of men and teams, a position which 
he satisfactorily filled for some time. He 
later purchased the Sears farm, located in the 
town of Ashfield, Franklin County, consisting 
of ninety acres of fertile land. He has remod- 
elled and enlarged the house, erected a new 
barn, placed the other buildings in good repair, 
improved the land, and set out fruit-trees, also 
introducing the cultivation of berries. He 
also conducts a choice dairy, to which he de- 
votes a great deal of attention. In 1894 Mr. 
Warren leased the Williams House, in Will- 
iamsburg, which he conducts in a most satis- 
factory manner. The table is in a measure 
supplied by the products of his farm, which 
are greatly appreciated by his many guests. 
He has also purchased the Belcher livery 
stable, and runs it in connection with the 
hotel. At the present time he has a most lib- 
eral patronage. Since establishing his resi- 
dence in Williamsburg he has gained the 
esteem and confidence of his fellow-townsmen. 

On November 15, 1866, Mr. Warren was 



united in marriage to Ella J. Ranney, daugh- 
ter of Luther B. Ranney, a prosperous farmer 
of Ashfield, and has six children, namely: 
Earl, an employee of the Adams Express Com- 
pany in Holyoke, married to Grace Tuttle, 
and father of one child, Irma; Ida, a lead- 
ing dressmaker of Williamsburg; Edward, 
engaged in business with his father, and mar- 
ried to Mary Graves; Luther, a conductor and 
mail and express agent on the Conway Elec- 
tric Railway; Roy, a successful horse dealer 
of Holyoke; and Mary, yet attending school. 
Mr. Warren is a Republican in politics, and 
liberal in his religious views. He is a Com- 
rade of Post William L. Raker, No. 86, Grand 
Army of the Republic, of Northampton. 



KREDERICK TAYLOR, one of the old- 
est native-born citizens of Granby, 
where his birth occurred Jul)' 26, 
1816, has been intimately associated with the 
agricultural, manufacturing, and financial in- 
terests of Hampshire County for more than 
half a century. 

His parents, Wiliard and Sarah (Cook) Tay- 
lor, were both lifelong residents of Granby. 
Willard's death occurred in January, 1834, 
and his wife's in January, 1842. The father 
was a farmer by occupation, in which he met 
with signal success. He and his wife had 
eleven children, as follows: Francis, who died 
in infancy; Sarah, born in 1S10, the widow of 
the late David S. Cook, and now living with 
her son in Lexington, Mass. ; Francis (sec- 
ond), who died in infancy; George W., de- 
ceased, the father of Wiliard A. Taylor, of 
whom a sketch is presented on another page ; 
Frederick, the subject of this notice; Speedy, 
born in 181S, who died at the age of twenty- 
seven years; Wiliard, who died at the age of 
two and one-half years; Francis E., born in 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



97 



1820, who died in March, [894; Horace \\\, 
horn in 1823, now a prominent attorney oi 
Rockford, 111. ; Pamelia, the wife of Julius (i. 
Lyman, of Hartford, Conn. ; and one other 
who died in infancy. 

Frederick Taylor, in common with his 
brothers and sisters, had every advantage that 
the county afforded for acquiring an education. 
After the death of his father, which occurred 
when he was eighteen years old, he and his 
brother assumed the management of the home 
farm. He had been employed in this way for 
twelve or more years, when he engaged in the 
manufacture of paper. Purchasing a mill he 
started the business and had acquired an ex- 
tensive trade, when in 1865 his mill was 
limned. He then bought a mill in South 
Hadley and resumed business, continuing 
until 1883, when he was again burned out. 
Alter this second conflagration he remained in 
the business but one year longer. By his ex- 
cellent management and superior business tact 
he has accumulated an ample competency, and 
is now living retired from the activities oi 
business, enjoying the fruits of his earlier 
years of unwearied toil. 

Mr. Taylor has been twice married. < In 
January 5, 1840, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Sarah II. Knight, who was born in 
Stafford, Conn., November 21, 1819, a daugh- 
ter of the Rev. Joseph Knight, who subse- 
quently located in Granby. Her death 
occurred October 5, 1855. They had five chil- 
dren, as follows: Joseph K., bom December 6, 
[840, who served in the late rebellion, and at 
the battle in Charleston, W.Va., August 21, 
[864, received injuries that caused his death 
nine daws later; a child, born April 1, [848, 
who died in infancy; Frank A., born .August 
25, 1 S 5 1 , who died March 2, 1858; Henry I-'., 
born September 26, 1853, who died April 25, 
1854; and Sarah II., born April 3, 1855, who 



died October 7, 1855. Mr. Taylor's second 
marriage was witli Mary [ngraham Cowles, on 
November 2, [856. She is a native of 
Granby, born May 2<), [835, being a daughter 
of Lucius and Mary (Ingraham) Cowles. The 
father was born in Granby, and died in this 
place April 6, [870. Mrs. Cowles was born 
in South Hadley, her death occurring in that 
town also, on September 12, 1N85. They 
were the parents of three children: Mary 
Ingraham (Mrs. Taylor), Ruth Eliza, and 
Sarah Irene. Ten children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, the following being 
their record: Georgie, born January ;, [858, 
died on the 21st of the following March; 
Helen Irene, born March $0, 1859, died March 
21, 1865; Frederick Cowles, born November 
4, i860, now pastor of the Congregational 
Church in Hyde Park, \"t. ; Arthur Strong, 
born August 17. [862, died September 11, 
1864; Angeline Cook, born September 24. 
1864, died March 11, 1865; Horace Sanders, 
born March 19, 1866, a farmer in Granby; 
Mary Irene, born June 22, 1868, formerly a 
successful teacher, but now living at home; 
Harry Morton, born July 26, [870, on the staff 
of the Boston Herald; an infant, born October 
24, 1874, lived but a brief time; and Grace 
Agnes, born August 7, 1880. 

Mr. Taylor has been the architect of his 
own fortunes. This he accomplished by giv- 
ing close attention to his business, and the 
exercise of other qualities which won for him 
the confidence and respect of the business com- 
munity. In his earlier years he was identified 
with the Whigs, but since the formation of the 
Republican party has been one of its warmest 
supporters. He has served most satisfactorily 
in various town offices, having been Assessor, 
Selectman, and also a Justice of the Peace for 
fourteen years. lie is a Trustee of the 
People's Bank, and a stockholder in the Park 



9 8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Bank and the Home Bank, of Holyoke. He 
has been a Director in the latter institution for 
years. He is an active winker in religious 
circles, and, with his family, belongs to the 
Congregational church. 



f 2)eORGE A. KILLINGS, whose por- 
\ 5T trait accompanies the present sketch, 
is a prosperous farmer and a repre- 
sentative of one of the oldest families in Hat- 
field. He was born in this town, May 26, 
1846, son of Erastus and Artimisia (Ford) 
Billings. Mr. Billings is a lineal descendant 
of Richard and Marjorie Billings, who emi- 
grated from England and located in Hartford, 
Conn., in 1640. In 1661 they settled in Hat- 
field, Mass., and were the original occupants of 
the farm where Mrs. J. D. Billings now re- 
sides. Richard Billings died March 13, 1679. 
The descent continues through Samuel and 
Sarah (Fellows) Billings, who settled in Hat- 
field, and were the parents of Samuel, Ebene- 
zer, Richard, and John, who was killed in the 
Indian wars, and Sarah. Samuel Billings, 
Jr. , was born in Hatfield, and succeeded to the 
possession of the homestead. He married 
Hannah Wright, and his children were: Sarah, 
Joseph, Zachariah, and Benjamin. The next 
.in line was Zachariah Billings, born in 1702, 
who married Ruth Meekins, and whose chil- 
dren were: David, Sybil, Lydia, and Silas. 
Captain Silas Billings, George A. Billings's 
great-grandfather, bought the farm directly 
opposite the Billings homestead. He mar- 
ried Marian Dickinson, by whom he had four 
children: Joseph, Erastus, Roswell, and Ruth. 
He died June 6, 1 80S, survived by his wife, 
who died in 1836, aged ninety years. Erastus 
Billings, the first of the name, who was a 
Colonel in the War of 1812, was born June 
1778. He resided with his parents as 



long as they lived, and inherited the farm, 
which he conducted with success, becoming 
the owner of other real estate. He was a 
Whig in politics, and took a prominent part in 
public affairs, serving in various town offices. 
Colonel Erastus Billings died October 27, 
1838. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Abigail Allis, became the mother of four chil- 
dren, as follows: Fanny E. , Silas, John, and 
Erastus. Mrs. Abigail A. Billings died in 
1829, aged fifty years. 

Erastus Billings, the younger, was born in 
Hatfield, May 11, 1809, and was reared to 
agricultural pursuits. On reaching manhood 
he bought the old parsonage, which was for- 
merly the homestead of the Rev. Hope Ather- 
ton, the first minister to settle in Hatfield; 
and he also purchased twelve acres of land 
adjoining. He remodelled the house, built 
a new barn, and otherwise improved the prop- 
erty, which he cultivated with success. Pros- 
pering in worldly affairs he bought other real 
estate in Hatfield, and erected a tenement- 
house for investment purposes. The family 
owned a mill, which is now operated by J. E. 
Porter, and conducted it successfully for a 
number of years. Erastus Billings was largely 
interested in the cultivation of tobacco, which 
he carried on with profitable results, until fail- 
ing eyesight compelled him to relinquish 
active business. He has been an energetic 
and industrious business man; and to these 
praiseworthy qualities, in addition to his nat- 
ural ability, is due his success in life. His 
wife, Artimisia Ford, was a native of Somers, 
Conn. She died in 1877, having been the 
mother of four children, as -follows: Henry 
P. ; Erastus F., who is Postmaster of Hatfield; 
Albert, who died in infancy; and George A., 
the subject of this sketch. 

George A. Billings was educated in the 
public schools of Hatfield and at the Monson 




GEORGE A. BILLINGS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Academy. He lias always resided at the 
homestead, and has devoted his attention to 
general farming ami the cultivation of tobacco. 
He is agent for Sutter Brothers, tobacco 
dealers of Chicago, for whom he buys leaf 
tobacco, of which he is a competent judge, 
lie has improved the farm and buildings, and 
his homestead is classed among the finest in 
Hatfield. He is a Republican in politics, and 
has served in several of the town offices. 

On December 6, 1871, Mr. Billings was 
united in marriage to Abbie F. Graves, who 
was born in Hatfield, daughter of Jonathan S. 
anil Caroline (Smith) Craves, both now de- 
re, ised. Her father, who was a prominent 
farmer and a Deacon of the Congregational 
church, died at the age of sixty-three years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Billings are members of the 
Congregational church. They have five chil- 
dren, namely: Mabel I.., born August 7, 
1872; Albert G, bom August 4, 1879: Laura 
L. , born July 17, 1SS2; George R. , born 
December 30, 1883; and Minnie A., born 
April 13, 18SS. 



ELLTHER CLARK WRIGHT, who is 
well and favorably known in North- 
■^p^" ampton as the superintendent of 
the water works, was bom in that place on 
April 21, 1844, son of Ozro C. and Emeline 
(Clark) Wright. 

Following back the genealogy of the Wright 
family, the first progenitor in this country has 
been found in Samuel Wright, who came from 
England with the first settlers of Dorchester, 
Mass. He subsequently moved to Spring- 
field, and later, about the year 1656, to North- 
ampton, which has since then been the home 
of this branch of the family. ( M his son, 
James Wright, and his grandson, Preserved 
Wright, who are the two next in line, but 



little is now known except that they followed 
the avocation of farmer. Ephraim Wright, 
the son of Preserved Wright, and the great- 
great-grandfather of Luther Clark Wright, was 
one of the leading and most influential men of 
the district in the latter half of the eighteenth 
century. lie took an active part in public 
affairs, tilled various town offices with honor, 
and was also sent several times to the General 
Assembly at Boston. He displayed equal zeal 
in matters pertaining to the church. The 
home occupied by him was the one establish! d 
by Samuel Wright, situated just west of the 
railway crossing on Main Street, near the Sul- 
livan Block. His son, Ephraim Wright, Jr., 
became the father of Zenas Wright, who was 
the grandfather of the subject of this biog 
rapby. lie married Miss Martha Clapp, of 
Westhampton, a daughter of Oliver Clapp. 
She bore her husband four sons and a daugh- 
ter, all of whom reached adult life. Of these, 
Ephraim M., was a graduate of Williams 
College, became a teacher in Williston Semi- 
nary, entered the ministry, and for several 
years was pastor over the Congregational 
church of Dayton, < )hio, also preaching at 
different places in New England. On accounl 
of failing health and a bronchia] affection he 
was obliged to leave the ministry, to the 
regret of his parishioners and friends. After 
this, for about seven years, he was employed 
in the custom-house, and for a year accept- 
ably filled the office of Secretary of the State 
of Massachusetts. Martin went to Illinois 
when a young man, and there became a wealthy 
and most successful fanner. Charles C. re- 
sided at Agawam, Mass., where he was profit- 
ably engaged in agricultural pursuits; and in 
his official position of County Commissioner 
he has settled more estates than any other man 
in Hampden County. The other son was < 1 ro 
C, father of Luther Clark Wright. Mary A., 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the only daughter, is the wife of Charles F. 
Lyman, of Chicago, who formerly held the 
position of High Sheriff in Dixon, 111., but 
has now retired from active business. She is 
a graduate of Mount Holyoke Seminary, and 
previous to her marriage was engaged in teach- 
ing. The mother died in [848, fifty-eight 
years of age. The father married again and 
lived until 1861, attaining the age of seventy- 
six years. Their remains rest in the West 
Farms cemetery. 

Ozro C. Wright settled in early manhood in 
West Farms, not far from the old homestead. 
He afterward went to Illinois, where he pur- 
chased lands, intending to settle there. His 
plans were changed, however; and after the 
death of his father he mined, in 1S64, to 
Northampton Centre. In company with his 
sons, Silas M. and Luther C, he purchased 
near Mount Tom a large farm of two hundred 
acres, which is known as the Asahel Lyman 
farm. It is now owned by the sons and is 
managed by Silas M. The father was a man 
of industrious habits; and, though possessing 
little cash capital, he became a successful 
farmer. In 1849, being enthused with the 
California gold fever, he went thither by way 
of the Isthmus, and was away from home a 
year, during which time he met with a fair 
degree of success in his explorations. While 
there he was a member of the Holyoke Mining 
Camp, of whom but two now survive. His 
wife, Emeline Clark before marriage, was a 
daughter of Luther and Deborah (Robinson) 
Clark, of Easthampton ; and their marriage 
occurred on November 1, 1841. She bore him 
the two sons previously mentioned, Silas M. 
and Luther Clark; also one daughter, Harriet 
E., now the wife of John E. Bates. 

Luther Clark Wright received his earl)' edu- 
cation in the public schools, supplemented by 
a course at Williston Seminary. He then en- 



gaged in farming until [884, when he was 
elected the first Tax Collector of the city of 
Northampton. lie came to the latter place to 
live in 1864, locating on Fruit Street. He 
was united in marriage on May 23, 1895, to 
Mrs. M. R. Kingsley, who was born in Mon- 
treal. She had lost her first husband three 
years after their marriage. At the time of 
her second union she was Assistant Librarian 
in the Northampton Public Library, a posi- 
tion she had filled for nine years with satisfac- 
tion to its patrons. 

Mr. Wright votes in the ranks of the Re- 
publican party, of which he is a faithful sup- 
porter. He is prominent in city affairs, and 
was chosen to succeed Mr. Clark as superin- 
tendent of the water works, chiefly upon the 
recommendation of the latter at the time of 
his resignation. Since then he has amply 
demonstrated his ability to fulfil the duties of 
that office. He and his wife, who is a woman 
of rare intelligence, reside at their fine new 
residence at 32 Crescent Street. 




rARTIN WILLCUTT, widely known 

as a prosperous agriculturist and 
an extensive stock-raiser, was born 
in Chesterfield, August 23, 1827, son of Major 
Joel and Malency (Mates) Willcutt. 

Major Willcutt was a farmer of industrious 
habits, and soon after his marriage, which was 
performed in Cummington, settled on a farm 
in this locality, and followed his customary 
occupation for a time. He subsequently sold 
his original purchase, bought the homestead 
property where his son Martin now resides, 
and thereafter made its cultivation and im- 
provement one of the chief objects of his life. 
He died in August, 1882. He was interested 
in military tactics, and for many years was 
drum-major in the old Home Guard. 1 1 is 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wife, who was his faithful companion and 
counsellor for more than half a century, died 
in 1877. They reared a family of eleven chil- 
dren, namely: Jesse, a resilient of Cumming- 
ton ; Clarissa, deceased; Malinda, wife of 
Ebenezer Shaw, of Cummington; Alvin, who 
died in Cummington in 1893; Martin, the 
subject of this sketch; Rhoda, deceased; 
Lucretia, wife of Henry Dyer, of Cumming- 
ton; Lydia, wife of Alexus Wells, of Cum- 
mington; Clarissa, wife of Abner Damon, of 
Williamsburg; Joel, deceased; and Maria, 
wife of William Wells, of Williamsburg. 

Martin Willcutt spent his childhood and 
youth in very much the same manner as most 
farmers' boys, by turns attending school and 
helping in the labors of the farm, but remain- 
ing beneath the parental roof-tree until mar- 
riage. He afterward worked at the carpenter's 
trade in this town and in Cummington for sev- 
eral years, and was likewise engaged to some 
extent in farming. After the death of his 
father Mr. Willcutt, who had always taken an 
interest in farm work, bought the claims of 
the remaining heirs in the homestead property, 
and has since carried on general farming with 
success. He has added much to the improve- 
ments already begun. There is a substantial 
and convenient set of buildings, with all the 
equipments required by a first-class modern 
agriculturist. He raises hay, corn, and the 
small grains, and makes a specialty of stock- 
raising, handling a large number of cattle each 
year. 

On February 9, 1851, Mr. Willcutt was 
united in marriage with Miss Millury J. 
Shaw, a native of Cummington, being a daugh- 
ter of Ebenezer Shaw, an early settler of that 
place. Mr. Willcutt champions the principles 
of the Democratic party, and, although not an 
aspirant for public office, has served his town 
as Road Surveyor, as well as in some of the 



minor offices. He is a true and loyal citizen 
in every respect, anil has an unblemished repu- 
tation as a straightforward and upright man 
and a worthy member of society. 




^RADSHAW H. STONE has been a 

'^A resident of Northampton for more 
than thirty years, having settled in 
his present home at 200 State Street, in 1862. 
He is a native of Windham, Vt., where he was 
born February 6, 1825, son of Horace W. and 
Hannah ( Fisher) Stone. 

Horace W. Stone was bom in Ashburnham, 
Mass., January 6, 1S00, being a son of Joseph 
Stone, of whose record little is definitely 
known. He was a railroad contractor, spend- 
ing the larger part of his life in New England, 
dying August 29, 1887, in Northampton. He 
hail several contracts on the Boston & Al- 
bany Railroad, the Hartford, the Connecti- 
cut River, and the Fitchburg roads. In 1855 
he built a portion of the Wabash S; Indiana 
Railroad. Seven children were born to him 
and his wife, of whom five grew to adult life. 
These were: Bradshaw H., the subject of this 
sketch; Orlando F. , formerly engaged in farm- 
ing at Westminster, Vt., who died December 
30, 1863, aged thirty-seven years; George 
Kirk, formerly a trainman, who was killed 
December 1, 1853, aged twenty-one years; 
Evander M., formerly a baggage master, who 
died September 15, 1863, aged twenty-eight 
years; and Hannah M., widow of the late 
Malery Locke, of Chicago, 111. 

Bradshaw H. Stone was reared to manhood 
on his father's farm. He subsequently as- 
sisted his father in his business of contracting 
and building. He was first employed as a 
train master on the Cheshire Railway, and 
afterward as section man on the Connecticut 
River road. He was also a train conductor for 



104 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



many years, and a road master for a shorter 
time. He is now quietly engaged cultivating a 
meadow farm of nine acres, on which he keeps 
a horse and cow. In politics he was a Whig, 
but since the organization of the Republican 
party he has been one of its strongest adher- 
ents. He was superintendent of streets for 
sixteen years, and had charge of much of the 
work of constructing the city water works. 
Religiously, both he and his wife are valued 
members of the Baptist church, and active 
workers in the denomination. 

Mr. Stone has been twice married. He was 
first married November 17, 1850, to Mary 
Ellen Stoddard, who died fourteen months 
after. On December 6, 1852, Mr. Stone was 
united in wedlock a second time with Eliza P. 
Barrett, born August 15, 1823, in Windham, 
Vt., a daughter of Simeon and Edith (Fan) 
Barrett. Mrs. Stone was liberally educated, 
and for several years prior to her marriage was 
engaged in teaching school. Of the union two 
children have been born, namely: Kirk H., 
who has been book-keeper for eighteen years 
with the same firm, is married and has four 
children, three sons and a daughter; and 
Urban S. , a ranchman at Montrose, Col. 
Mr. ami Mrs. Stone are highly esteemed by 
their neighborhood. 



{ 2)k<>RGE SMITH, a lifelong resident 
VmT an ^ native of Middlefield, Hamp- 
shire County, and one of the best- 
known agriculturists of that town, was born 
on July 17, 1834, son of Asa and Sally (Root) 
Smith. 

1 1 is father, who was a native of Connecti- 
cut, where he was born March 23, 1788, when 
a small boy, came with his parents to Massa- 
chusetts, making the journey thither on horse- 
back. They settled in Middlefield, where 



Grandfather Smith purchased a large farm, on 
which he passed the remainder of his life, 
engaged in the healthful labors of farming. 
Asa Smith successfully followed the same 
occupation throughout his life. He died May 
6, 1869. His wife, who was born August 19, 
1790, was a native of Massachusetts, as were 
both her parents. She died September 3, 
1836. Their union was blessed with nine 
children. Asenath, the eldest, born Septem- 
ber 17, 181 1, married Parsons P. Meacham, 
a successful farmer in New York State, both 
of whom died, she October 8, 1892, and he 
September 6, 1887. Six children were born 
to them; namely, Harriett (deceased), George 
(deceased), Charles H., Francis W. , Cynthia 
C. (deceased), and Lawrence L. Calvin 
Smith, born July 17, 1813, died August 23, 
1 8 14. Calvin Smith (second), born December 
9, 1 8 14, married for his first wife Miss Har- 
riet M. Crozier, who was born March 18, 
1818, and died in March, 1842. He then 
married his second wife, Miss Aurelia Love- 
land, who was born August 18, 1822. He 
had one son by his first union, Jerome, and 
four sons by the second union: Edwin; 
Dwight (deceased) ; Lofton J. ; and Frank. 
Calvin Smith died December 10, 1882. 
Harriett Smith, born April 6, 181 7, died Jan- 
uary 6, 1844. Almira Smith, born Septem- 
ber 4, 1819, married Benjamin Pratt, and died 
March 4, 1S89, leaving five children: Clara, 
Arthur D., Sumner G. (deceased), Elma, and 
Edwin D. Caroline Smith, born February 
11, 1822, married Edwin Dudley, and died 
June 1, 1894, leaving five children: Emma 
M., Oakley S., Helen E., Lofton F., and Car- 
roll PL. Harmony Smith, born June 4, 1824, 
is the widow of Cyrus Dudley, who died Jan- 
uary 26, 1876; she now resides in New Jer- 
sey. Angeline, born December 15, 1828, 
died May 7, 1829. 




OREN WILLIAMS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



107 



George Smith, the youngest of the family 
and the .subject of this sketch, remained with 
his parents and helped his lather in carrying 
on the farm. After their death he purchased 
the old homestead, which he has profitably 
conducted since. He devotes his attention 
principally to general farming, raising good 
crops of the staple products of the vicinity. 
He also engages to some extent in dairying. 

Mr. Smith has been twice married. His 
first wife, to whom he was united November 
12, 1862, was Miss Anna Belle Walker, who 
was born in 1S44. She died September I, 
1866, leaving one son, Arthur L. , whose birth 
occurred September 1, 1863; he married 
Miss Florence Marshall, anil is now a success- 
ful physician in New Brunswick, N.J. Mr. 
Smith's second union was with Miss Julia E. 
Bartlett, a native of Worthington, where she 
was born December 25, 1S47, daughter of Asa 
ami Polly Bartlett, both of whom were also 
natives of Massachusetts. Her father is a car- 
penter by trade, and is also engaged in farm- 
ing. Her mother died June 24, [891. Mis. 
Smith has borne her husband five children: 
Herbert, born April 9, 1870, who died ( Icto- 
ber i, 1870; George Ernest, born April [4, 
1872, who died August 19, [872; Edith M., 
born December 9, 1873; Walter A., born 
December I, 1875; and Kirby W., born July 
1 1, 1.N.N0. 

Mr. Smith is a faithful supporter of the 
Republican part)-, and has always been actively 
interested in politics. He and his wife are 
communicants of the Baptist church at Mid- 
dlelield. 



REN WILLIAMS, one of the old and 
respected residents of the beautiful 
college town of Amherst, was born 
in South Amherst, September 16, 18 12, and 
comes of a race of independent farmers. His 




parents were Justice and Sally (Warner) 
Williams. His paternal grandfather, Justice 
Williams, St., who was one of the first set- 
tlers of South Amherst, owning and tilling a 
large farm there, was an industrious and 
thrifty man, whose labors were crowned with 
success, fie and his wife, Sarah Pomeroy 
Williams, both lived to be quite old. They 
were church members, attending what is now 
the Second Congregational Church. They 
had a family of seven children, all of whom 
attained maturity. 

Justice Williams, the younger, was a hard- 
working and successful man. At one time he 
owned what is now the town farm in South 
Amherst; and during his whole lifetime he- 
was a large property owner, winning from the 
soil a comfortable livelihood. In politics he 
was a Whig, and was a leading man in the 
district, serving as Sheriff for a number of 
years. He died on his farm at the age of 
fifty-six, his wife living to be sixty-three. 
They had six children — five sons and a 
daughter — only one of whom, the subject of 
this sketch, is living to-day. 

Oren Williams grew to manhood on the old 
farm. He attended the district schools of 
South Amherst, and studied one term at Am- 
herst Academy, then turned his attention to 
agricultural pursuits, ami up to 1882 was suc- 
cessfully engaged in general farming, being 
industrious and painstaking, shirking no task, 
however difficult, and a good business man. 
At one time he owned three hundred acres of 
land; but in 1882 he sold his farm, and pur- 
chased a pretty home in Amherst, where he 
now resides retired from active work. 

On May 29, 1S39, Mr. Williams was 
united in marriage with Eliza J., daughter of 
Sylvanus and Sukey (Joslyn) Howe, who was 
born in Enfield, Mass., November 17, 1812. 
Sylvanus Howe also was a farmer; and his 



ioS 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



life was passed far from the noise of city 
traffic, in the open country, where 

■• Mother Nature laughs around. 
Where even the deep blue heavens look glad. 

And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground." 

Mr. Howe was a good citizen, he and his 
wife both being members of the Congrega- 
tional church, and was universally regretted 
when he passed from earth, at the age of sev- 
enty-two. Mrs. Howe, long surviving her 
husband, attained the advanced age of eighty- 
seven. Four of their six children are now 
living. 

Politically, Mr. Williams is a Republican. 
He and his wife are Congregationalists, at- 
tending the church at South Amherst. They 
have no children. Deservedly esteemed by 
all who know them, this venerable couple are 
ending their days in the peace and comfort 
which are the fitting rewards of early and 
long-continued useful toil. A portrait of Mr. 
Oren Williams is appropriately placed in this 
collection of Hampshire County worthies. 



M 



AVID EDWARDS HOXIE, a well- 
to-do farmer of Northampton, Mass., 
was born February 25, 1840, in the 
house in which he still resides. Nearly one 
hundred and fifty years have elapsed since 
Nathaniel Edwards, third, the first occupant 
of the farm, took possession of it. 

Nathaniel was a descendant of Alexander 
Edwards, who came to this country from 
Wales. This progenitor was a tanner by 
trade, and also engaged in sheep ami cattle 
raising at the start. He afterward combined 
these avocations with that of tavern-keeper. 
His inn was close by the first toll-gate west of 
Northampton, on the Boston and Albany turn- 
pike, over which the stage lines ran. With 



the advent of steam railways to take the place 
of the old coach lines, this wayside hostelry, 
like others of the same description, was aban- 
doned some forty-five years ago. Mr. Hoxie's 
maternal grandfather, Captain David Edwards, 
was born in Northampton ; and his wife, I'en- 
ninah Judd, was a daughter of Sylvester Judd, 
of Westhampton. They were the parents of 
five children, two sons and three daughters, 
all of whom, except one son, married. The 
youngest, who was the last survivor, died in 
1 895, aged seventy-eight years. His first wife 
having died, Captain Edwards married again, 
but had no children by the second wife. His 
sister Esther married Leander Moody, and in 
commemoration of the event there was planted 
the elm-tree which now overshades Mr. 
Hoxie's home. 

Grandfather James Hoxie, who had lost one 
limb, was a tailor by trade, and originally 
lived in Rhode Island, whence he came on 
horseback accompanied by his wife, who rode 
behind him on a pillion. 

Benjamin B. Hoxie, the father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was born in Greenfield in 
1809. He afterward removed to Charlemont, 
where his youth was spent. At the age of 
eighteen years he came to the farm on which 
his son resides and learned the tanner's busi- 
ness of Nathaniel Edwards, third. About 
1834 he went to that part of New York State 
on which the city of Buffalo has since arisen, 
then covered with timber, and spent the suc- 
ceeding two years in the woods there. At the 
end of that time he returned to Northampton, 
and, with the exception of a brief visit to Cali- 
fornia, there spent the remainder of his life. 
He engaged in the tanning business in partner- 
ship with his brother-in-law, Horace Wright, 
and also carried on his farm, which contained 
between four and five hundred acres of land. 
He was married in 1833, to Miss Hannah 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



109 



Burt Edwards, a grand-daughter of Nathaniel 
Edwards, third. They reared two of the 
five children born oi their union, name])': 
David Edwards; and Esther Moody, wife of 
Alphonso Withered!, residing in Northampton 
Centre, and mother of one son, Philip With- 
erell. 

David Edwards Hoxie was reared on the 
farm in Northampton, and after completing 
the course in the district school entered Will- 
iston Seminary. When the Civil War broke 
out he enlisted in Company C of the Tenth 
.Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. This regi- 
ment was the first which went to the front 
from Western Massachusetts. This was in 
the spring of 1861. In the spring of 1863 he 
was discharged on account of disability. Five 
years later, in 1868, he entered the employ 
of the Davison Watch Company, jewellers ol 
Northampton Centre, with whom he remained 
until 1875, after which he conducted the busi- 
ness on his own account. In 1884 he closed 
out his store and returned home to care for 
his aged mother and recuperate his health. 
This proved profitable in a pecuniary way as 
well as salutary to his health and consoling to 
his mother. 

In September, 1868, he was joined in mar- 
riage with Miss Sarah J. Perkins, of Lyme, 
Conn., a daughter of Charles and Temperance 
1 1 hapman) Perkins. Her parents had ten chil- 
dren. She now has three brothers living, 
namely: Elisha and George, who are well- 
to-do farmers in Oskaloosa, la. ; and William, 
who lives in Chesterfield, Conn. These, with 
their brother James, served in the Civil War. 
James (a twin brother of Andrew J., who died 
aged five years) was wounded and did not live to 
leach his home. Mi - , and Mrs. Hoxie's home- 
has been blessed by the birth of three promis- 
ing sons, namely: James Benjamin, a young 
man of twenty-four years, residing at home, 



who was a student at the Connecticut Literary 
Institute; George Perkins, who is eighteen 
years of age, and is attending the Northamp- 
ton High School; and Sylvester Edwards, a 
youth of thirteen years. 

Mr. Hoxie has always voted the Republican 
ticket. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and has 
served as Secretary of his Chapter. He is a 
charter member of the William L. Baker 
Post, No. 86, Grand Army of the Republic. 
He has served on the Common Council two 
years, as an Alderman one year, and for three 
years as a member of the Board of Health. 
Mr. Hoxie is a man of superior intelligence, 
and by his business ability and integrity has 
won respect and esteem in both business and 
social intercourse. 



ACOB HOLLEY, the oldest liveryman 
in Northampton and the proprietor of 
a flourishing livery stable at 270 Main 
Street, is of German nativity, having been 
born in Wiirtemberg in the year 1826. His 
father, Martin Holley, was a farmer, and also 
engaged in the baking business, in his native 
country, which he never left. He married 
Agnes Wilbur, who bore him five sons and 
three daughters, all of whom grew to maturit) 
and married. But three of them came to 
America, those being Jacob, the subject oi 
this article, a sister that died in Boston in 
1893, and his youngest brother, John Holley, 
a miller and a manufacturer of lumber in 
Amherst. 

Jacob Holley was but six years of age when 
his father died. He then went to live with 
an uncle, who sent him to school until he was 
twelve years of age. He was apprenticed to 
the cabinet-maker's trade for a term of three 
years, afterward continuing to work at it until 
1846. On May 5, 1847, accompanied by his 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



brother, John L. , Mr. Holley bade adieu to 
his friends and the Fatherland, and started for 
America. The journey from London to Que- 
bec was made in a sailing-vessel, and lasted 
forty-two days. Of the forty-two emigrants 
aboard the ship only he and his brother had 
any money on their arrival in Canada, and that 
amounted to three dollars. The brothers pro- 
ceeded to Montreal, and soon found work in 
the haying and harvest fields, where they 
worked for four months at six dollars per 
month. Then, drawing all their wages, they 
journeyed to New York City, thence to Hart- 
ford, Conn., and subsequently to the neighbor- 
ing town of Broad Brook, where, at length, 
they secured work in the woollen factory, re- 
ceiving six dollars per month and board. Six 
months later they went to Leeds, then called 
Shafer's Hollow, in Hampshire County, and 
again found employment in a woollen factory. 
They labored twelve hours each day through 
the winter for small pay, and were glad to do 
so. In the spring Mr. Holley found a situa- 
tion in the grist-mill at Northampton, a posi- 
tion which he retained nearly eleven years. 
Beginning with the modest salary of twelve 
dollars and fifty cents a month, his pay was 
increased from time to time until he received 
ten dollars and fifty cents per week. In 1857, 
having accumulated some money, he purchased 
the livery property of Ashael Wood, including 
residence and stable, and has since carried 
on the business. The strict and honorable 
methods he has adopted were guarantees of the 
success he has had. They have won for him 
in an especial manner the confidence and pat- 
ronage of the best people in the. city. From 
eighteen to thirty horses are used, and he 
employs from three to five men. By thrift, 
shrewdness, and foresight in the business, he 
has acquired a considerable property in real 
estate, being the owner of a ten-acre lot on 



King Street and of a valuable farm in Ches- 
terfield. He is an industrious and respected 
citizen and an independent voter, being bound 
to neither man nor party. 

On October 13, 1853, Mr. Holley was mar- 
ried to Anna Jones Graves, a native of Ireland ; 
and they had three sons and two daughters. 
Two of the sons have passed away, William L. 
dying in Northampton at the age of twenty 
years, and Robert Jacob in St. Joseph, Mo., 
aged twenty-three years. The latter was a 
very smart and active young man. His body 
was brought back to the home of his nativity 
and placed in the cemetery beside that of his 
brother. The record of the children living is 
as follows: Anna J., who married H. P. 
Dewey, has a son ten years of age ; Agnes M. 
lives with her sister; Henry Graves Holley is 
a farmer and deals largely in meat. The 
mother died in 1887; and Mr. Holley subse- 
quently married her sister, Maria E. Graves. 
Mr. Holley is a fine representative of the 
sturdy and thrifty German element that has so 
materially advanced the industrial interests of 
the country. 

*m *m > 

Kr. MONROE KEITH, one of the 
iiibstantial business men of the town 
of Granby and a leading member of 
the farming community, was born on the farm 
where he now resides, March 28, 1835. His 
father, Aver)- Keith, who was a native of Bel- 
chertown, this county, born November 5, 
1802, came to Granby in 1832. He was a 
tiller of the soil and bought the family home- 
stead, which includes thirty-one and one-half 
acres, for the sum of twelve hundred and fifty 
dollars. He cleared and improved the land, 
working laboriously for many years. He re- 
linquished the management to his son, Mon- 
roe, a few years prior to his decease, which 
occurred December 27, 1863. His wife, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



whose maiden name was Lydia Hathaway, was 
horn in Eastern Connecticut in 1803, ami died 
on the home farm, December 26, 1873. They 
were the parents of three children, as follows: 
Marietta, horn July 25, 1825, who married 
A. T. Sabin, and died March 26, 1885, in 
Ross, Mich.; Margaret, who died in infancy; 
and Monroe, the subject of this notice. 

In common with the farmers' children of his 
day, Monroe Keith acquired a good public- 
school education. To this was added a valua- 
ble experience in farming, gained in assisting 
his father. < >n the death of the latter he took 
the entire control of the property, which he 
has carried on since with remarkable success. 
His rule is never to he satisfied with less than 
the best possible results. His land is in a 
high state of cultivation. In addition to gen- 
eral farming Mr. Keith has been considerably 
interested in the lumber business, which he 
has found quite profitable. A citizen in whom 
his fellow-townsmen have confidence, he has 
served with credit to himself and with honor 
to his constituents in various offices, having 
been Assessor from 1870 until 1875, Select- 
man for nine years, during eight of which he 
was chairman of the board, ami in 1876 a 
Representative to the State legislature. He is 
a decided Democrat in his political views and 
quite prominent in party movements. He is 
at present one of the Directors of the Granby 
Co-operative Creamery Association, for which 
he supervises the sales of butter. 

On November 29, 1859, Mr. Keith was 
united in marriage with Caroline A. Nash, a 
native of Hampden County, born December 
22, 1838, being a daughter of Asahel and 
Samantha (Robinson) Nash, both of whom 
died in Ludlow, Hampden County. Mr. and 
Mrs. Keith have a daughter, Alice Bertha, 
who was born May 10, 1871, and died August 
21, 1894. She married J. Leroy Simonds, 



who now makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. 
Keith, and assists in the labors of the farm. 




LBERT NICHOLS, a veteran agricult- 
urist, is one of the oldest native-born 
citizens of Hampshire Count}', his 
birth having occurred in the town of Chester- 
field, January 5, 181 2. He is a son of the 
late Joshua Nichols, who was born in Plym- 
outh County, Mass., in that part of the town 
of Pembroke now included within the limits oi 
Hanson. Joshua Nichols was a farmer by oc- 
cupation, ami came to this county in his earl)' 
manhood. He was united in marriage to one 
of Chesterfield's fairest daughters, Miss Re- 
becca Witherell, who died in 1828. He was 
a man of prominence in these parts, having 
served as Selectman, Assessor, and ( Iverseer 

of the P After living to a good old age 

be died in 1853. He reared nine children, of 
whom Albert, the subject of this sketch, is 
the only survivor. Those deceased were: 
Olive, Harvey, Varnum, Lucy, Mary, John, 
Asahel, and Theron. 

Albert Nichols received a good education 
in the public schools, anil at the age of sixteen 
years began to assist his father on the home- 
stead. On reaching his majority, he hired 
out his services among the neighboring 
farmers. Having saved up a little money he 
went westward in 1834, locating in Geauga 
County, Ohio. Here he spent three years 
working in the fields timing seed-time ami 
harvest, and teaching school in a pioneer log 
house in the winter season. In 1837 Mr. 
Nichols, being entirely satisfied with his share 
of experience in frontier life, returned to 
Chesterfield, and, after attending the academy 
one term, bought a farm, which he labored 
hard to clear and improve. Twenty years 
later he disposed of that and bought a small 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tract ol land in the village, which he tilled 
successfully for another score of years. He 
bought the farm where he now resides in 
1863-65. This property has also prospered, 
it being now well under cultivation and sub- 
stantially improved. 

On April 12, 1 838, Mr. Nichols was united 
in marriage with Clarinda B. Johnson, a 
daughter of William and Sylvia Johnson, re- 
spectively natives of Williamsburg and Mans- 
field, Mass. Mr. Johnson spent his entire 
life in Williamsburg. Mrs. Johnson survived 
him, and passed her declining years at the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Nichols. The latter 
became the parents of three children : Warner 
B. , William J., and John 11. The eldest son, 
Warner, was a clerk in the employment of the 
government when the late rebellion broke out, 
and enlisted from Washington in a regiment of 
cavalry. At the close of hostilities he re- 
turned to Washington, obtained a position as 
clerk in a land office, and remained a resident 
of that city until his death, June 14, 1875. 
William J. likewise served in the late Civil 
War, and at the battle of the Wilderness re- 
ceived a gunshot wound, from the effects of 
which he died at the hospital in Washington, 
May 30, 1864. John H., now a resident of 
Brooklyn, was educated in the navy. He has 
been twice married. His first wife, whose 
maiden name was Emma Robbins, died in 
Hartford, Conn. ; and he subsequently married 
his present wife, Mrs. Sallie Muse, of 
Virginia. 

While so laudably attending to his own in- 
terests Mr. Nichols has not been unmindful of 
the interests of his native town and county. 
He has served both with ability and fidelity in 
several official capacities. For a quarter of a 
century he was Town Clerk, was Selectman 
and Assessor for many years, has been an ear- 
nest worker in behalf of the schools all his 



life, and was a member of the School Board 
from 1838 until 1875. He was also a Justice 
of the Peace for a long period of time, his 
term of office having expired August 24, 1895. 
Three different terms Mr. Nichols represented 
his district in the State legislature, serving 
twice in the lower house and one term in the 
Senate. In politics the subject was at one 
time identified with the Know Nothing party. 
He afterward became a Republican, but of late 
years he votes the Prohibition ticket. 



•fgTORACE CLARK, one of the town 
f^H fathers of Greenwich, Mass., a vil- 

J-^ 9 V. * l a S e resident actively engaged in 

general farming and cattle dealing, was born 
in Wells, Me., January 29, 1820, son of 
Moses and Abigail (Hobbs) Clark, both na- 
tives of Wells. Mr. Clark's great-grand- 
father, Jonathan Clark, who was born in the 
north of Ireland, was one of the first settlers 
of Wells, a sturdy pioneer who died on the 
land which he cleared. His son Nathan, who 
also was a farmer, was a well-read man for his 
day, and held a leading position among the 
citizens of Wells, both on account of his in- 
telligence and his success in business matters. 
In politics a Whig, he was elected to all the 
important offices of the town, serving as Town 
Clerk for many years and as Selectman for a 
number of terms. He attended the Baptist 
church, though not a member, and lived an 
exemplary life. He died in his native town 
when seventy-nine years of age. 

Moses Clark, son of Nathan and the father 
of Horace Clark, was born in 1798. He fol- 
lowed the profession of teaching from early 
manhood up to the time of his death, spending 
the greater part of his life in his native town. 
He lived but forty-six years, being killed in 
a steamboat explosion on the Ohio River in 




HORACE CLARK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1844. His wife, who was born in 1797, died 
in 1857. In politics Moses Clark was a 
Democrat. He and his wife attended the 
Baptist church. The)' had a family of seven 
children, all of whom reached maturity, but 
four are now dead; namely, James, Sylvia, 
Charles, and Erastus. James was killed by 
the Indians while on his way home from Cali- 
fornia. Erastus was Captain of Company C, 
Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment, and served 
during the whole of the late war. The living 
children of Moses Clark are: Horace, above 
named: Jane, wife of Darius Barry, of Lynn, 
Mass. ; and Nathan, who resides in Lynn, and 
is prominent in the Democratic politics of that 
cit_\'. 

Horace Clark grew to manhood on the home 
farm, receiving the rudiments of his education 
in the schools of his native town. But he 
was not satisfied with the knowledge thus 
acquired, and, going to work in a store in 
Boston at the age of sixteen, saved his earn- 
ings in order to complete his education. He 
worked two years: and his father allowed him 
fifty dollars of the money he saved, taking 
which he went to Hanover, and there prepared 
himself for college. He attended the college 
one year, eking out his tuition fee by doing 
various things and teaching during the vaca- 
tions of 1839: but in 1841, owing to ill 
health, he gave up his studies, ami the follow- 
ing year enlisted in the United States Army, 
and served in the Mexican War. Mr. Clark 
was not at the time aware that he was enlist- 
ing, thinking, when he signed his papers, that 
he was securing a position as surveyor for the 
government; but, finding himself entrapped, 
he made the best of the situation, and served 
five years with credit. He was promoted to 
the rank of Corporal, and was at the Carlile 
Barracks thirteen months, being then assigned 
to Company C, attached to the Second Regi- 



ment of Dragoons. Subsequently he was 
made First Sergeant of Company C. At the 
end of his term of enlistment he went to Lynn 
to learn the morocco dresser's trade, which he 
followed for some time, acting as foreman in 
a morocco factory for over three years. Ik- 
then established a factory of his own, and for 
tw-enty-eight years was successfully engaged 
in the morocco business in Lynn, part of the 
time associated with his brother under the 
firm name of H. & X. Clark, part of the time 
alone. Mr. Clark eventually disposed of his 
manufacturing interests, and in September, 
1878, moved to Greenwich, purchasing the 
estate on which he now resides. This farm, 
which covers two hundred acres, is one of the 
best in the town. He carries on general 
farming, and makes a specialty of fattening 
veal for the Boston market, keeping from ten 
to twelve milch cows to aid in feeding the 
calves which he buys. The dwelling-house 
which Mr. Clark occupies is one of the oldest 
in the town, having been erected in 1766, and 
is widely known as the old Hine'S Tavern. It 
is in a fine state of preservation, and is a 
monument to the good workmanship of the 
builders of the last century. On this farm, 
too, is a grand old elm-tree, supposed to be 
the oldest tree in the county. 

Mr. Clark's first wife, Sarah L. Newcomb, 
to whom he was united in 1S48, died in 1855; 
and his second wife, Rachel Stimson, whom 
he married two years later, died in 1858. In 
1888 he married his third wife, Naomi E. 
Dutton, a native of Sackville, N.B. Mr. 
Clark has two children living. His son 
Charles K. died at the age of forty-two; Will- 
iam H. resides in Lynn; and Lillian B. is 
the wife of Frank Galloup, also a resident of 
that city. 

In politics Mr. Clark is independent. He 
has held nearly all the public offices of the 



n6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



town of Greenwich, serving as Selectman, 
Overseer of the Poor, and in other capacities; 
and in educational matters he is a moving 
spirit, his great desire now being to see a 
high school established in Greenwich. On 
religious matters he holds liberal views. He 
is a man who believes in doing everything 
well, and his farm to-day is one of the best- 
kept farms in Greenwich. His portrait is 
given on a neighboring page. 



(5 I HOI 



HOMAS FORD, a well-known farmer 
<^l and market gardener of Hadley, was 
born in Chewmagna, England, Decem- 
ber 25, 1840, son of Thomas and Charlotte 
(Godfrey) Ford. The father of Mr. Ford was 
a native of Chewmagna, where he followed the 
trade of a blacksmith and practised as veteri- 
nary surgeon. He died in his native town in 
1847. His wife, who was born in Long Ash- 
ton, England, became the mother of four sons, 
as follows : Thomas, the subject of this sketch ; 
William, who resides in Chewmagna; Charles, 
also in England; and James, who died in 
1 85 1. She died June 1, 1887. 

Thomas Ford resided with his mother, and 
after the death of his father assisted in her 
support. He worked as a farm laborer until 
1870, when, on April 14 of that year, he, in 
company with his wife and child, emigrated to 
America, and settled in Hadley. After work- 
ing here for twenty months as a farm laborer 
he moved to North Hadley, where he con- 
tinued in the same occupation until 1884, and 
then purchased his present farm. The prop- 
erty contains fifty acres and is receiving con- 
stant improvement. Mr. Ford makes a spe- 
cialty of raising vegetables for the markets of 
Hadley and Northampton. He is very pros- 
perous and highly respected, and entitled to 
the credit of having earned for himself both 



the property and reputation he at present 
enjoys. 

Mr. Ford was married June 10, 1867, to 
Sarah Tovey, of Manchester, England, who 
was born June 2, 1838, daughter of Moses and 
Mary (Keating) Tovey. Her father was of 
English and her mother of Irish ancestry, and 
both died in England. Mrs. Ford has been 
the mother of four children, namely: Edgar 
Joseph, who died September 24, 1883; Charles 
W., who resides in Springfield; Robert John; 
and Alexander Thomas. Mr. Ford is a Re- 
publican in politics. 




DVVIN B. CLAPP, prosperously engaged 
in general farming in Westhampton, is 
a man of push and energy, sparing no 
effort to make a success of whatever he under- 
takes. He was born May 17, 1864, in West- 
hampton, which is also the birthplace of his 
parents, Reuben Wright and Susan (Burt) 
Clapp. His father is a prominent agricultu- 
rist of this locality, and has served in various 
public offices, having been Selectman and 
Assessor for many years. Of the family of 
eight children the following is chronicled: 
Ellen, now a resident of Holyoke, is the 
widow of the late Augustus Allyn ; Laura, 
residing in Northampton, is the wife of Fred- 
erick Dayton, of whom a sketch appears else- 
where in this volume; George B. died at the 
age of thirty-two years; Lyman W. is the 
subject of a sketch on another page ; Mattie 
died when fourteen years old; Edwin B. is the 
subject of this sketch; Susan M., wife of 
William H. Lyman, lives in Westhampton; 
and Mary died when but two years of age. 
Edwin B. Clapp attended the district 
schools, acquiring a substantial education in 
his early days. When but eighteen years of 
age he began the battle of life for himself. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



"7 



Leaving the home farm he secured a position 
as clerk, and later as book-keeper, in the 
Hadlev Falls National Bank at Holyoke, 
where he remained three years. After this, 
deciding to engage in the occupation to which 
he was reared, Mr. Clapp came back to 
Westhampton. 

On May 10, 1887, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Nellie Kingslev, a daughter 
of Joseph and Almina (Norton) Kingsley, of 
Southampton. Of the happy union two chil- 
dren came to bless the parents, namely : Ray- 
mond, whose birth occurred in 1889; and 
Roger, born in 1893. After his marriage Mr. 
Clapp bought his present farm, which con- 
tains two hundred acres of land and whereon 
he has labored with persevering industry since. 
Its appearance to-day gives ample evidence to 
the passer-by of his skill and good taste as 
a practical farmer. The crops common to this 
section of the State are raised upon the land. 

Mi". Clapp is an uncompromising Republi- 
can, and is a member of the Westhampton par- 
ish committee. For the past year he has 
been a Director in the Hampden Co-operative 
Creamery Association, and is likewise con- 
nected with the Cemetery Association. In 
religious matters both Mr. and Mrs. Clapp are 
members of the Congregational church, and 
active in the charitable work of that 
denomination. 



EEONARD BAKER, a well-known 
farmer of Pelham and a veteran of the 
— ^ Civil War, was born in Springfield, 
Mass., May 24, 1824, son of Daniel and 
Rachel (Reynolds) Baker. Daniel Baker was 
a native of Tolland, Conn. During his life 
he conducted farms in Connecticut, Vermont, 
and Massachusetts, finally settling upon land 
in the eastern part of Springfield, which is 
now the Eighth Ward of that city. He was a 



Democrat in politics, a Methodist in religion, 
and died at the advanced age of ninety-six 
years. His wife, who was born in Troy, 
N.Y., became the mother of thirteen children, 
all of whom reached maturity except two, who 
died in infancy. Three are now living, 
namely: Lester, a resident of Springfield; 
Colonel Baker, of Connecticut ; and Leonard, 
the subject of this sketch. The mother died 
at the age of eighty-five. 

Leonard Baker was educated in the public 
schools of Springfield, and at the age of 
twenty-one commenced to learn the trade of a 
stone cutter, which he subsequently followed 
for some years. < >n January 4, 1864, he en- 
listed as a private in the Third Regiment, 
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, was later 
transferred to the engineer's department, and 
was honorably discharged from service Septem- 
ber 26, 1865. After the close of the war Mr. 
Baker resided in Ludlow, Mass., for some five 
years. Then, in 1 870. he settled upon a farm 
in Pelham of ninety-five acres, which he has 
since successfully cultivated. He is a Repub- 
lican in politics and a comrade of the Grand 
Army of the Republic Post of Belchertown. 

On July 4, 1850, Mr. Baker was united in 
marriage to Esther M. Kibbe, who was born 
in Springfield, Mass. , December 30, 1827, 
daughter of Alvin Kibbe. The)' had two chil- 
dren, namely: Alice, who was horn June 7, 
1853, ami resides with her father; and Min- 
nie, who married Elbridge Packard, and re- 
sides in Enfield. Mrs. Baker died December 
30, 1892, aged sixty-five. 



LBRIDGE KINGSLEV, the "artist en- 
graver," who has been pronounced by 
good authority to be as strong a per- 
sonality in American art as was Jean Francois 
Millet in that of France, was born in Car- 



1 18 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



thage, Ohio, September 17, 1842. He is a son 
of Moses W. and Rachel W. (Curtis) Kings- 
ley, both natives of Hatfield, Hampshire 
County, Mass., in which town the former cul- 
tivated a farm. He spent his life, with the 
exception of a few months passed in Ohio, in 
Hatfield, dying there in 1893. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kingsley reared six children, of whom El- 
bridge was the oldest. 

Elbridge Kingsley was reared on a farm. 
He gathered the elements of his education in a 
wooden school -house on a hill, guarded by a 
patriarchal elm, while his out-of-school hours 
were pretty well taken up with farm work. 
One of his duties was the task of driving the 
cows to "Jericho, " a wild tract of land used 
as a common pasture, some two miles from 
the village. At first he drove only the cows 
from the home farm. Later he drove those of 
two of the neighbors, for which he received 
two shillings a week. And as the barefoot 
boy trudged along behind the indolent, slow- 
moving animals, his quick eye noted the beau- 
ties of Nature's panorama, and learned many a 
secret destined to be of use to him in after 
life. In the garret of his home was a goodly 
store of old papers and books, which contained 
many a tale of Indian warfare that made its 
impress on his boyish imagination. The re- 
sult was that Indian chiefs and squaws, trap- 
pers and cowboys, done on brown store paper, 
decorated the walls of his bedroom. One war- 
rior of gigantic frame and gorgeous trappings 
attracted his father's attention ; and his friend, 
the village blacksmith, was invited in to 
pronounce upon the drawings. With bated 
breath and throbbing heart young Kingsley 
watched the muscular art critic, who was very 
near-sighted and poked his grimy fingers over 
the picture to assist his vision. "Pretty good, 
considerin' ! " was the judgment rendered ; and 
on the strength of that Elbridge was sent to 



join the class of a travelling teacher who hap- 
pened to be in town, giving lessons in Grecian 
and Oriental painting. The lessons ended in 
a few weeks, as the teacher, in pursuance of 
his itinerary, then left town. When fourteen 
years of age he was sent to Hopkins Academy 
in Hadley; and for two years he alternated 
between Llatfield and Hadley, attending school 
in winter and working on the farm in summer. 
In his sixteenth year he entered the office of 
the Hampshire Gazette to learn the printing- 
trade, remaining until twenty-one years of age. 
In the mean time his drawing was not neg- 
lected; and sketching went on as steadily as 
the opportunities came, in an out-of-the-way 
corner of the building. In 1863, having at- 
tained his majority, and equipped with a new 
suit of clothes as well as with a fair knowledge 
of the printer's trade, he started for New York 
City. In the city he had many adventures 
such as usually befall a country boy on his 
first visit. He finally obtained a position as 
compositor on the Tribune. At the same time- 
he began to attend the evening course of draw- 
ing and painting at Cooper Institute. After 
changing his place of employment several 
times he finally gave up type-setting and de- 
voted, his attention to wood engraving. Most 
of his work at this time was upon mechanical 
illustrations; but he was occasionally enabled 
to do a block for Harper's, through the firm 
that employed him. While in New York he 
was for some time city correspondent for the 
Hampshire Gazette. In 1871 he returned to 
Northampton and engaged in the printing and 
engraving business with Messrs. Snow & Har- 
ris. There he became acquainted with J. 
Wells Champney and C. A. Burleigh. He 
now began to work in oil colors out of doors, 
and one winter he walked daily to Amherst, in 
order to sketch from the casts in the college 
gallery. In 1874 the firm with which he was 




DEXTER TOWER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



connected dissolved, and he went back to New 
York. In that year he cut a block for Scrib- 
ner's Magazine (now the Century), which so 
pleased the art department that his connection 
with that publication has continued to this 
day. This was in reality the beginning of 
Mr. Kingsley's career as an engraver. He 
returned to I lad lev every summer to do open- 
air sketching; and believing that an artist, in 
order to faithfully portray Nature, must see 
her in all her varied aspects, he had a car built 
which is a diminutive studio and dwelling- 
house on wheels. In 1S82, while out in this 
car in the woods near Hatfield, Mr. Kingsley 
performed a feat in wood engraving that had 
never been attempted before. This was cut- 
ting a block directly from nature. The engrav- 
ing subsequently appeared as a full-page cut in 
the Century, together with a description of his 
method of winking by the artist. Since that 
time he has regularly contributed original en- 
gravings of this sort to the Century and to St. 
Nicholas, most of them being made from or 
suggested by scenery in Hampshire Count)-. 
It will be readily seen that this departure 
raised wood engraving from the position of a 
handmaid of the graphic arts to that of a crea- 
tive and primary art, which Mr. Kingsley 
claims it is. In [885 he illustrated Whittier's 
"Poems of Nature. " 

Years ago Elbridge Kingsley was ranked by 
Hammerton, perhaps the ablest of English art 
critics, in his "Graphic Arts, " as one of the 
best wood engravers in the world. Since 
then he has made a decided advance, and the 
power and delicacy shown in his landscape 
work have never been excelled. He received 
the highest award for wood engravings from 
the Paris Exposition of 1889; and in 1893 he 
bail thirteen small engravings marked as medal 
winners at the Chicago Exposition. In the 
same year he was awarded a gold medal at the 



Midwinter Fair held in San Francisco. In 
a lecture on wood engraving written by him he 
gives his ideal of what an artist should be, as 
follows: "Rising on the heights of knowledge 
but enlarges the horizon, and true art for the 
individual begins where his training leaves 
off." As a colorist Mr. Kingsley displays in 
his paintings a daring and originality that is 
unique, while nevertheless true to nature; and 
a recent writer places him before George 
Inness in the handling of color. 

While in New York Mr. Kingsley was 
united in marriage with Miss Emma Brown, 
a native of New York City, of English 
descent. She died eight months after mar- 
riage. Three years subsequently he was again 
married, his bride being Elizabeth E. Cook, 
of Brooklyn, N.Y. She passed away in 
March, 1891, leaving three children — Emma 
B., Mary R., and Lepha N. — all of whom are 
living with their father. 

His home is a picturesque two-story house, 
surrounded by well-kept lawns and hedges, 
situated in a pleasant part of old Hadley. He 
is always ready to receive a visitor who is 
interested in ait, and to show his studio and 
several smaller rooms where he engraves and 
paints, the "den " downstairs where he reads 
and writes, and finally the famous car. Dem- 
ocratic in the extreme, he knows no difference 
between rich and poor; and his optimism sees 
a sunbeam in every shadow. His mind is an 
exhaustless reservoir of poetic beauty; and his 
heart is filled with kindliness, generosity, and 
sympathy. Verily, Elbridge Kingsley is a 
rare man, and one of whom New England may 
well be proud. 

irA ENTER TOWER, who is a retired 

I 1 carpenter and builder of Northamp- 

^-^LS ton. Mass., was born in the town of 

Cummington, Hampshire County, Mass 1 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



.March 12, 1 8 1 7, son of John M. and Ruth 
(Reed) Tower, the former of whom was also a 
native of Cummington, where he was born 
about 1777. 

His grandfather, Stephen Tower, the de- 
scendant of an Englishman who immigrated 
to America in Colonial days, came from Plym- 
outh, Mass., to Cummington, where he was 
one of the first settlers. John M. Tower's 
wife, Ruth Reed, was a daughter of a Congre- 
gational minister. They were married in 
Cummington in 1808, and as time passed five 
children were born to them, namely: John 
M., Jr., born in 1809; Celemna, born in 
181 2, who became the wife of Hiram Bartlett, 
and died in 1843, leaving three children; 
Dexter; Laura, born in 1819, who became the 
wife of Cephas Thayer, and died in 1890, 
leaving no children; and Russell, born in 
1829, a prosperous farmer of Worthington, 
Mass. Their mother died in 1830. 

Dexter Tower remained with his parents 
until he was thirteen years of age, and was 
then bound out to Russell Bartlett for the 
remainder of his minority to learn the carpen- 
ter's trade, the terms of apprenticeship being 
that he should receive one hundred dollars 
when he reached the age of twenty-one years 
in addition to his board and clothes in the 
mean time and three months' schooling. 
Having attained his majority, he engaged in 
work as a journeyman carpenter for a year in 
the town of Chester, from which place he 
came to Northampton, and bought his present 
homestead of one hundred acres, with an old 
house that had for many years been used as a 
tavern. The consideration was twenty-five 
hundred dollars, for the larger part of which 
Mr. Tower was obliged to secure credit. In 
1888 he purchased a tract of land in Tona- 
wanda, N.Y., which he divided into twenty- 
three lots, and kept until 1895, selling them 



then for about six thousand dollars. Since he 
purchased his farm he has erected thereon 
two good houses. The large farm-house now 
owned and occupied by his son he built in 
1877, at a cost of about four thousand dollars; 
and in 1884 he erected his own residence on 
two acres taken from the farm, selling at that 
time the balance to his son. He also has 
property in Duluth, Minn., and in Wisconsin. 
In Duluth are four building lots that he pur- 
chased in 1889 and ten acres of land, which, 
though not yet divided, is worth about six 
thousand dollars. He still owns seventy-five 
acres of land in Windsor, Berkshire County, 
Mass. Mr. Tower has done but little car- 
penter work since 1891, and is enjoying a 
well-merited rest, having acquired a sufficient 
competence to supply him with comforts and 
pleasures in his old age. He is well pre- 
served for a man of his years and the great 
amount of hard labor he has done. 

Mr. Tower's first wife, Irene P. Pierce, of 
Windsor, Berkshire County, Mass., a daughter 
of Isaac Pierce, died in August, 1886, at 
sixty-one years of age, having borne him two 
sons and two daughters: Clinton T., Climena, 
Lizzie, and Perley. 

Clinton T. Tower, born in 1855, is success- 
fully engaged in dairy (arming. He married 
for his first wife Miss Ida Bartlett, who died 
in April, 1 888, at twenty-nine years of age, 
leaving two children: Arthur Clinton, now a 
youth of fifteen years; and George H., a lad 
thirteen years old. Clinton Tower was 
again married on July 31, 1889, to Miss Lucy 
L. Allen, of Florence, a daughter of Bennett 
and Cordelia (Warren) Allen, the former of 
whom was a native of Middletown, Conn., and 
the latter of Williamsburg, Mass. By this 
marriage he has two children: Clara A., born 
June 22, 1890; and Bertrand, born September 
22, 1893. He is a member of the Common 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



>-3 



Council from his ward. Climena Belle 
Tower, the wife of Fred Sweet, of Wilming- 
ton, Yt., has three children. Lizzie Tower 
married Caleb Hill, of Wakefield, Mass. 
Perley D. Tower, who is unmarried, is a 
farmer. 

In September, [888, Mr. Tower was again 
married, his second wife being Mrs. Evaline 
Rogers, who was left a widow with three chil- 
dren, namely: Sophia, a widow residing in 
Buffalo, X.V.; ami twin daughters — Cora 
and Carrie — both of whom are married. 
Mis. Tower has one grandchild and two 
great-grandchildren, all living in Buffalo, 
N.Y. Mr. Tower formerly voted the Whig 
ticket, but since the organization of the Re- 
publican part}' he has been affiliated with the 
latter. He was reared in the Presbyterian 
faith. His portrait is herewith presented. 




"OX. JOHN A. MORTON, deceased, 
formerly a prominent resident of 
Hadley, was born in Ware, Mass. , 
March 8, 1804, son of Thomas and Eunice 
(Gray) Morton. The late Mr. Morton's par- 
ents were natives of Massachusetts. Thomas 
Morton, who followed agriculture his entire 
life, died at the age of thirty-two years. His 
wile became the mother of five children: 
Thomas; Mary; Caleb; Jonathan; and John 
A., the subject of this sketch. 

John A. Morton at the age of fifteen com- 
menced to learn the trade of a dyer and cloth 
dresser, an occupation which he subsequently 
followed fur some time. After his marriage 
he purchased the farm where his son, George 
W. , now resides. It originally comprised but 
one hundred and twenty-five acres; but he 
kept adding to it as opportunities offered until 
it embraced three hundred acres. He was a 
very successful farmer. His declining years 



were passed with his children, and he died 
December 27, 1878. Mr. Morton was promi- 
nently identified with public affairs, served as 
a Selectman in the town of Hadley for several 
years, and represented his district in the legis 
lature with distinction. 

Mr. Morton's wife became the mother of 
twelve children, namely: George W. ; Elmira 
S., wife of Henry M. Marsh; Sarah Ann, who 
died at the age of eighteen years; John A., 
Jr., who married ami is now residing in Iowa; 
Thomas U., who married Annie Tuttle, and 
now resides at the old homestead; Horace B. , 
who married Jennie B. Underwood, and resides 
in Hadley; Hattie, who married Henry L. 
Cook, and is now dead ; Edward C, who mar- 
ried Alice Wilber, and is now residing at the 
old homestead; Francis, who died in infancy; 
Clara, who died in 1859, aged ten years; 
Cyrus, who died at the age of nineteen years; 
and Jennie W. , wife of Henry S. Shipman, 
a resident of Hadley. The mother died No- 
vember 14, [888. 

George W. Morton married for his first wife 
Ellen B. Boynton, of Springfield, and his 
three children by this union were: Emma R. ; 
Kate P., deceased; and Arthur B. His first 
wife having died, he wedded for his second 
wife Dency M. King, of Amherst, who died, 
leaving four children; namely, Nellie < ). , 
Thera S., May L. , and Edna P. Mr. Morton 
was formerly a Whig in politics, and is now a 
Republican. 

HARLES A. PUFFER, one of the 
oldest citizens of Amherst, where he 
has been for years successfully en- 
gaged in farming, was born in Franklin, Nor- 
folk County, Mass., May 27, 1824, son of 
Stephen and Sally (Fosgate) Puffer, both 
natives of Berlin, Mass. 

Stephen Puffer spent the early part of his 




124 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



life in Norfolk County, working as a tanner, 
currier, and finisher. He owned the farm now 
in the possession of Charles A. His last 
years were passed successively in Belchertown 
and Amherst. He was an industrious and 
competent workman, very successful in busi- 
ness, a Republican in politics, and a member 
of the Congregational society. He died in 
North Amherst, February 4, 1859. Mrs. 
Puffer died April 3, 1871, leaving four chil- 
dren, namely: Reuben G., residing in North 
Amherst; Sarah E. , widow of J. C. Hastings, 
residing in South Amherst ; Stephen P., resid- 
ing in North Amherst; and Charles A. All 
of these are now over seventy years of age. 

Charles A. Puffer received the greater part 
of his education in Amherst. When a boy he 
became familiar with the duties of farm life, 
and on attaining manhood took to farming as 
an occupation. He has a fine estate of fifty 
acres, on which he has made many improve- 
ments, and carries on general farming. His 
buildings are in good condition, and the 
whole property bears evidence of thrift and 
prosperity. 

On March 11, 1846, Mr. Puffer was united 
in marriage with Caroline E., daughter of 
Earl and Nancy (Oliver) Johnson, a native of 
Hadley. Mrs. Puffer's grandfather, Silas 
Johnson, was born in Woodstock, Conn. The 
greater part of his life was devoted to farming; 
but for some time he kept a tavern in Dover, 
Vt. His last years were passed in South 
Amherst, where he owned a farm that yielded 
him an ample income. He was a veteran of 
the Revolution, having enlisted in the Conti- 
nental army when only sixteen years of age. 
In politics he was an old-time Whig, and, 
with his wife, attended the Congregational 
church. His span of life embraced eighty- 
six years. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Clarissa Bugbee, also lived to an advanced 



age. They had two sons and five daughters, 
all of whom lived over sixty years. 

Earl Johnson, the father of Mrs. Puffer, 
was the elder of the two sons. He also was 
engaged in agriculture, owned a good farm in 
Amherst, and was quite wealthy. He was a 
stanch Republican, an active and worthy citi- 
zen, and lived to the age of seventy-eight 
years. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Nancy Oliver, was born in Scotland, and came 
to America when seven years of age. She and 
her husband were members of the Congrega- 
tional church at South Amherst, and she died 
at the age of sixty-three. Their union was 
blessed by two daughters and a son. Of these 
two are now living, namely: Clarissa, wife of 
Reuben Puffer, of North Amherst ; and Silas 
O. , a farmer in Amherst. 

Mrs. Puffer, the wife of Charles A. Puffer, 
died June 12, 1895, aged seventy-one. They 
had several children, but the father is now the 
sole survivor of the family. Mr. Puffer cast 
his first vote in support of the Whigs, and is 
now a Republican. He is a member of the 
Congregational Church at South Amherst, 
which was also attended by his late wife, and 
is held in the highest esteem by his townsmen. 



< S\ HE( 



HEOPHILUS EDWARDS, a promi- 

<^| nent and well-known agriculturist of 

Westhampton, was born November 9, 

1826, in the house where he now lives, and 

which was also the dwelling of his father, 

Samuel Edwards, during his entire life. 

The annals of Hampshire County show that 
the Edwards family were among its earliest 
settlers. Samuel Edwards, Sr. , the paternal 
grandfather of Theophilus Edwards, was born 
and reared in Southampton. After his mar- 
riage he located in Westhampton, buying the 
homestead property on which his children 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



125 



were born, and on which he and his wife, for- 
merly Silence Judd, spent their remaining 
days. She passed away in 1S40, and his death 
occurred two years later. 

Samuel Edwards, father of Theophilus, suc- 
ceeded to the ownership of the home farm, 
which he managed successfully, placing much 
of the land under cultivation. He was a man 
of good mental attainments, and had much 
practical sagacity, duly appreciated by his 
neighbors. He represented the district in the 
State legislature during the year [854-55. 
He married Betsey Ludden, a native of 
Williamsburg, Mass., and brought her to the 
home 'it his boyhood; there they reared their 
family and spent their declining years. His 
wife died in 1857, and he died in [869. The 
record of the ten children born to them is as 
follows: Mrs. Maria Thayer died in Amherst 
in July. 1 <S ! ) 5 ; Asa C. resides in Springfield; 
Samuel 1''. died at the age of twenty-one years; 
Betsey lives in East Amherst ; Hli Ludden died 
at the age "J seventy-four years; !■'. Worster 
died in i860; Almeron is a resilient of West 
Springfield; Theophilus is the subject of this 
article; Sarah, wife of Joel Lurch, resides in 
Sunderland; and Henry B. is a well-known 
merchant of .Amherst. 

Theophilus Edwards acquired a good educa- 
tion in his youthful days. Having completed 
his studies he began working with his father 
in tilling the. soil. Finding the occupation 
congenial to his tastes Mr. "Edwards has con- 
tinued in it to the present day, and, with the 
eption of eighteen months in his early man- 
hood, has constantly lived on the family home- 
stead. He has added one hundred and sixteen 
ai us to the original farm, so that now it con- 
tains two hundred and sixty acres, making 
one of the most valuable estates in the vicin- 
ity. He is a skilful and practical farmer, 
beinj^ thorough and systematic in his methods. 



Firm in his convictions of justice and honest 
in all of his dealings, he is held in high re- 
spect. He is a stanch adherent of the Repub- 
lican party, and served his fellow-townsmen as 
Selectman in 1869 and 1870, holding at the 
same time the office of Assessor. 

On March 16, [853, Mr. Edwards was 
united in marriage with Sarah A. Dole, a 
native of Shelburne, Mass., and a daughter of 
Levi and Emily (Rudd) Dole, neither of whom 
is now living. Mr. Dole was a prosperous 
farmer; while Mrs. Hole, who survived him, 
passed the twilight years of her life with her 
daughter, Mis. Edwards. Of the union of 
Mr. and Mrs. Edwards six children were born, 
namely: Sarah Alice, horn in 1854, who died 
January 12, 1878; Emily Amelia, wife of 
Clark F. Thayer, who is engaged in the dry- 
goods business in Chicago; Ella A., de- 
ceased, who married H. J. Chapman; Clara 
E., also deceased, who was the second wife of 
H. J. Chapman; Levi W., now a resident of 
Galesburg, 111., who married Frances Pierce, 
of Monmouth, 111., October 4, 1892; and 
.Arthur T. , who lives at home. Mr. Edwards 
and his wife are active workers in the cause of 
religion, and belong to the Congregational 
Church of Westhampton. He is now one of 
the standing committee of that society, and 
has been superintendent of its Sunday-school. 



UBERT M. CONEY, a successful 
attorney-at-law possessing the esteem 
- V_ . , and confidence of his neighbors, was 
born on his father's farm in Ware, March 18, 
1844, and is a son of John and Sophronia 
(Allen) Coney, and a grandson of William 
Coney. 

His great-grandfather was a descendant of 
Nathaniel Coney, who came from Coney 
Green, England, in the latter part of the 



1 1(> 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



seventeenth century and settled in Stoughton- 
ham, now the town of Stoughton, Mass., where 
he spent the remainder of his life. His de- 
scendants were among the best-known resi- 
dents of that place for many years. However, 
as time went by, they gradually scattered 
throughout New England and Western New 
York. William Coney, son of Nathaniel, 
who was born in 1 764, removed when ten 
years of age to Coy's Hill in Ware, where 
he afterward became a practical farmer. fie 
reared a family of six children, namely: 
Nathan; John; Calvin; Mrs. Caroline Guff; 
Theodosia; and Galacy, who married Darius 
Eaton. Nathan, the eldest, lived over eighty 
years; and, with the exception of Calvin, the 
youngest son, the rest enjoyed long lives. 
Their father's death occurred in 1847, at the 
age of eighty-three. 

John Coney, who was born in 1809, grew to 
manhood on his father's farm. As his parents 
were in humble circumstances, his start in life 
was made without any capital. Ik-ginning in 
a humble way, but with a resolute spirit, he 
advanced step by step until he was able to buy 
his father's farm. Thereafter he gave his 
attention to the cultivation of the land, at 
which he was very successful. In 1871 he 
retired from his farm to the village of Ware, 
purchasing a home at 63 North Church Street, 
where his last days were spent. He died in 
1SS4, seventy-five years of age. His wife, 
Sophronia Allen, to whom he was married in 
1 841, was a daughter of Chester and Anna 
(Rice) Allen. She bore him three sons, as 
follows: Hubert M. ; George H., a successful 
carpenter and builder in Ware; and Charles 
E., who died unmarried in 1876, at twenty-six 



y 



ears of age. She still resides on North 



Church Street. 

Hubert M. Coney acquired his early educa- 
tion in the public schools. With the purpose 



of entering Amherst College, he (although 
fitted for college) attended the Ware High 
School, working for one year of the period on 
the farm. The Civil War had, however, then 
begun; and his plans were changed by his 
enlistment, October 11, 1861, in Company D 
of the Thirty-first Massachusetts Infantry. 
He served as a private in the ranks until the 
summer of 1864, when he was sent on detached 
service as clerk at Cavalry Corps Headquar- 
ters, Department of the Gulf. He was honor- 
ably discharged November 20, 1864, and at 
once returned to his home. On March 1, 
1865, he entered the hardware store of George 
Robinson, by whom he was employed until 
September, 1866, when he purchased the busi- 
ness. After carrying it on for six years he 
sold it to Robinson Brothers, and then en- 
gaged in the fire and life insurance business 
for a time. While so employed he studied 
law; and in March, 1876, he was admitted to 
the bar of Hampden County. He followed 
his profession in Springfield, Mass., until 
1882, and afterward in Boston until 1889. 
Equipped with the knowledge and experience 
he had so acquired, he then opened an office in 
Ware. He was soon in possession of a large 
clientage and is now doing a prosperous 
business. 

He was married on April 17, 1867, to Miss 
Eleanor Brainerd, of Ware, a daughter of 
Edwin L. and Eleanor (Lawton) Brainerd. 
They lost their only son, Edwin B., when he 
was fourteen years of age, his death occurring 
on the anniversary of their marriage, April 
17, 1889. Mr. Coney has always taken a 
prominent part in political affairs, and served 
most acceptably in various official capacities. 
He was sent as a Representative to the State- 
legislature in 1 88 1 from Ward Two, Spring- 
field, Mass. ; and in 1872 he was chosen Town 
Clerk of Ware, serving in that position until 




ALBERT R. HOUSE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



I JM) 



1876. He is a member of Eden Lodge, A. F. 
& A. M., of Ware, and Springfield Com- 
mandery Knights Templars, in which he has 
passed all the chairs except that of Eminent 
Commander. He belongs to the J. W. Law- 
tun Tost, Grand Army of the Republic, of 
which he was a charter member and is now a 
Past Commander. He is Judge Advocate of 
the Department of Massachusetts, and has been 
an aide on the staff of Commander-in-chief 
Lawler. Aside from being a leading lawyer 
of the town of Ware, Mr. Coney is a most 
genial and obliging gentleman, and has won 
many warm friends. He and his wife reside 
in their pleasant home at 16 Church Street. 




LBERT R. HOL1SE, a progressive agri- 
culturist of Enfield, owns one of the 
most pleasantly located farms in 
this beautiful town, the view from his resi- 
dence being one that the lover of nature never 
tires of looking upon — the picturesque moun- 
tain side with its rocks and trees on the west, 
and green fields sloping toward the south and 
east. Mr. House was bom in the town of 
Chesterfield, in the western part of Hamp- 
shire County, on June 12, 1S42, and is a son 
of Samuel and Clarissa (Root) House. His 
grandfather, Gresham House, was also a native 
of Chesterfield, son of an early settler of that 
town. He became the owner of a good farm 
and spent his active life in its cultivation. 
His earthly years were about threescore and 
ten, and his wife Mary also lived to attain a 
good age. They were the parents of nine 
children, five of whom are still living. 

Samuel House, the second child of his par- 
ents, was born in Chesterfield on April 8, 
1 8 10. After having been for many years 
there successfully engaged in farming, he has 
now retired from active business and is living 



at Haydenville in this county. He has always 
taken a keen interest in town affairs, and at 
the time of the Civil War, while a resident of 
Chesterfield, served as Selectman. In politi- 
cal affiliation he is a Republican, and in relig 
ious fellowship a Congregational ist. His 
wife, Clarissa Root, was born April 15, 1815, 
in Westfield, Hampden Count)-, and is now in 
her eighty-first year. Of the four children 
born of their union, three grew to years of dis- 
cretion and still survive, namely: Ellen, the 
wife of Samuel Thayer, of Westfield; Albert 
R. ; and Edwin J., who served as a private in 
the First Massachusetts Cavalry, and now 
resides in Williamsburg. Frank died when 
but three years old. 

Albert R. House grew to manhood in Ches- 
terfield, acquiring his education in the district 
and high schools and at Westfield Academy. 
On attaining his majority lie left home, ami in 
1864 purchased a farm in Enfield, the one on 
which he now resides, a well-improved estate 
of one hundred and seventy-four acres. He is 
a hard worker anil carries on general farming 
with good success, keeping his barns and 
house and other buildings in good repair, and 
his land in a good state of cultivation, the tat 
and sleek cattle that graze in his pastures 
showing that they receive due attention and 
care. 

On May 8, 1S62, Mr. House was united 
in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Bryant, a 
daughter of Eli and Mary (Simmons) Bryant. 
She was born in Suffield, Conn., November 
27, 1842. Her father, who spent many years 
of his life in Chesterfield, where he was a suc- 
cessful farmer, was drowned in the freshet that 
visited that town in 1874, he being then sixty- 
three years old. Mrs. Bryant is still living 
in Warren, 111. She is a member of the Con- 
gregational church. She and her husband had 
five children, namely: Nelson J. and Ella L. 



l 3° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



(now deceased); Elizabeth (Mrs. House); 
Willard C. , living in Wyanet, Bureau County, 
111. ; and Mrs. Isabella M. Hayden, of South 
Framingham, Mass. .Mr. and Mrs. House have 
an interesting family of six children, of whom 
a brief record follows: Alice C, born Septem- 
ber 10, 1862, lives in Haydenville, Mass., 
with her grandparents; Samuel, born March 
12, 1864, is engaged in the tin and plumbing 
business in Springfield, Mass.; Agnes E., 
born April 12, 1 866, married Dvvight Tillson, 
of Enfield, and has two children, Raymond A. 
and Ralph B. ; Annie I., who was born Febru- 
ary 12, 1 87 1, married Thomas Sanderson, of 
Enfield, and has a son, Roy E. ; Mary L., 
born August 28, 1872, is the wife of William 
Metcalf, of Enfield, and has a daughter, Ger- 
trude E. ; and Albert R., Jr., who was born 
March 25, 1876, still lives with his parents. 
Mr. House casts his vote with the Republi- 
can party. He interests himself in whatever 
conduces to promote the welfare of his town; 
and among the positions of responsibility and 
trust filled by him have been that of Selectman 
for several terms and that of Assessor for 
upward of fifteen years. He is a member of 
Bethel Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Mr. and Mrs. 
House are a genial couple, and the doors of 
their pleasant home are often open for the 
reception of their many valued friends and 
acquaintances. A likeness of Mr. House will 
be found on another page of this volume. 




SMYN WATTS, a progressive farmer 
of Worthington, was born in that 
town, May 30, 1828, son of John and 
Philura (Anable) Watts. Mr. Watts's grand- 
father was John Watts, a native of Ireland, 
who emigrated to the United States and settled 
in Worthington, where he engaged in farming. 
John Watts, Jr., Mr. Watts's lather, followed 



the same occupation through life. He also 
erected a saw-mill, which he operated success- 
fully for several years. He was a well-known 
and highly esteemed citizen, a Whig in poli- 
tics, and was a member of the Board of Select- 
men. He and his family attended the 
Congregational church. He died May 3, 
1853. His wife was the mother of fifteen 
children, eleven of whom survived, and were 
named : Eliza, Martha, John, Jane, Mary, 
Lucy, Samuel, William, Alonzo, Henry, and 
Osmyn. The others died in infancy. The 
mother's death occurred in August, 1869. 

Osmyn Watts resided with his parents and 
assisted his father upon the farm. At his 
father's death he purchased the homestead. 
He sold it later, and after residing for a time 
first upon the farm which he now cultivates 
and then with an aunt, he moved to Chester, 
Mass. In 1853 he bought a farm in Middle- 
field, Mass., where he resided for fourteen 
years. At the expiration of that period he 
sold the property there, and in 1868 moved to 
his present farm in Worthington. He now 
carries on general farming, stock-raising, and 
dairying, and personally attends to a major 
part of the farm duties. He is a Republican 
in politics. 

On January 20, 1851, Mr. Watts was united 
in marriage to Eunice D. Barnes. She was 
born in Southampton, February 18, 1833, 
daughter of Stephen C. and Delana (Gorham) 
Barnes. The father, a native of Connecticut, 
died January 16, 1873; and the mother, who 
was born in Montgomery, Mass., died March 
27, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Watts have one 
daughter, Eunice P., who was born October 
29, 1851. She is the wife of B. G. Blake, of 
Williamstown, Mass., and has had four chil- 
dren: Osmyn B. , Walter, Winnifred, and 
Margaret (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Watts 
are members of the Congregational church. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REYIKYV 



tMBROSE CUDWORTH, a prominent 
citizen of Chesterfield, who owns and 
s , conducts a farm in that town, was 

horn there July 1 6, 1832, son of Charles and 
Roxy (Witherell) Cudworth, both natives of 
Chesterfield. 

Charles Cudworth's chief occupation was 
general farming, but he sometimes worked on 
the roads. He conducted a farm in Savoy for 
a while, subsequently entering the one of 
which his son is now proprietor. This he sold 
later, and removed to another. Mis last days 
were spent in Chesterfield, where he died May 
2, 1883. His wife survived him something 
over eight years, passing away October 20, 
1891. They were the parents of three chil- 
dren, namely: Ambrose, the subject of this 
sketch; Arabella, who passed away some time 
since; and Electa, who married Alvin M. 
Hurt, and lives in South Hadley. 

Ambrose Cudworth received a good common- 
school education, remaining with his parents 
until twenty-one years of age. He then hired 
out as a farm hand, working for different cm- 
plovers until he was twenty-seven, when he 
bought an interest in his father's farm. Since 
that time he has resided on the homestead, 
which under his wise and capable manage- 
ment improves yearly. He carries on general 
farming in an intelligent and progressive way, 
and has attained prosperity through his own 
unaided efforts. 

On November 13, 1859, Mr. Cudworth was 
married to Elvira Dwight Damon, a native of 
Chesterfield, born-April 29, 1841. Mrs. Cud- 
worth is the daughter of Reuben and Dimis 
(Dwight) Damon, the former a native of Ches- 
terfield, the latter of Williamsburg. Mr. 
Damon was engaged in farming in Chesterfield 
up to the time of his death. Mr. and Mis. 
Cudworth are the parents of two children, 
namely: Ada M., wife of Albert Damon, who 



resides near her parents and has two children, 
Viola Elvira and Raymond Calvin; and Nellie 
E, wife of U. F. LeDuc, who resides with 
her parents and has two children, Ashley C. 
and Lester Charles. Mr. Cudworth gave his 
children a good education, having sent them to 
the best schools in the county. 

In politics Mr. Cudworth is a Democrat. 
He has served as road surveyor and in other 
offices, but has never been anxious to hold a 
public position. Airs. Cudworth is a member 
of the Congregational church. The family 
have a pleasant home in Chesterfield, and are 
esteemed among the old residents of the town. 




IRENZO H. TOWER, a successful 
carpenter and builder, and a highly 
respected citizen of Cummington, 
Hampshire County, in which place he was 
born on August 14, 1830, is a son of Warren 
and Rhoda (Tower) Tower, and a grandson of 
Nathaniel and Leah (Lower) Tower. 

Nathaniel Tower, who was born in lling- 
ham, Mass., settled in the town of Cumming- 
ton about the year 1780. He was a successful 
farmer and land-owner. During the Revolu- 
tion, irv War he served as a patriot soldier. 
He is also known to have taken a prominent 
part in town affairs. He died in 1810, sixty- 
five years of age. His wife, Leah Tower, 
died in 1847, at the advanced age of ninety- 
nine years. The)' were the parents of six 
children : Leah, Nathaniel, Peter, .Ambrose, 
Roxy, and Warren. 

Warren Tower, father of Lorenzo II., was a 
native of Cummington, where his birth 
occurred on January 9, 1789. He received 
only a common-school education; and, al- 
though he learned the trade of a carpenter, 
agriculture was his principal occupation. The 
first farm he owned was that which is now the 



'o 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



property of Mr. Shipman. He had lived there 
but a short time when he sold it and purchased 
the B. B. Lyman farm. After he had settled 
on the latter, he devoted a part of his time to 
his trade. He was making a success of his 
farming when he was taken ill, and died May 
26, 1834, while yet in the prime of life. His 
wife, Rhoda Tower, who was a daughter of 
Stephen and Anna (Bowker) Tower, was born 
on November 26, 1795. She bore her hus- 
band six children, as follows: Salome, born 
October 9, 1817; Mariam, born January 5, 
1 8 19; Sabrina, born May 29, 1820; Elmina, 
born October 6, 1822; Warren E. , born April 
5, 1824; and Lorenzo H. Mrs. Tower died 
August 23, 1833. Her husband was a Whig 
in politics, and in religious belief he was a 
Cniversalist. 

Lorenzo H. Tower, who by the death of 
both his parents was left an orphan at the 
early age of four years, went to live with his 
cousin, Marshall Minor, with whom he re- 
mained until fourteen years of age. He then 
started out to earn his own livelihood, an 
uphill undertaking for a lad of his years under 
the most favorable circumstances. He found 
a place with Ezra Whitman, a farmer of Wind- 
sor, Mass. He was kept at farm work until 
eighteen years of age, when, with forty dollars 
in money, the amount of his wages during 
those four years, he went to Pittsfield, Mass. 
Here he worked for A. L. Clark for some 
time, and then went to the shops of Hunting- 
ton, Mass., where for two years he worked on 
basket and rim wood machinery. In this work 
he showed much aptitude, and was sent out to 
set up basket machinery in different places. 
Finally, having in this way started a basket 
factory at Oneida, N.Y., for E. J. Hatch, he 
was given full charge of it, and held that posi- 
tion for the next two years. After a brief 
visit to his Massachusetts home he returned to 



Oneida and took charge of a sash, door, and 
blind factory for eight years. While there he 
owned two houses, one of which he built him- 
self. He then returned to Cummington ; and, 
after working one year for William Cullen 
Bryant as carpenter, he took charge of the 
Bryant property. Lender his supervision the 
house and barn on the proprietor's birthplace 
were rebuilt, also the Bryant Library, which 
was erected in 1872, and the house and barn 
adjoining, where Mr. Tower lives. He owns 
a piece of land near by, which he cultivates. 
He is also the owner of a tenement-house in 
Holyoke and a house in East Hartford, Conn., 
and some land in Iowa. As already stated, 
after he had been in Oneida, N. Y., about two 
years, he returned to Massachusetts for a brief 
stay. 

On returning to Oneida after his previous 
visit to his home he took back with him as his 
wife Miss Vesta A. Bartlett, to whom he had 
been married November 27, 1856. She was 
born in Cummington, October 16, 1830, and 
was a daughter of Ephraim and Betsey (Mar- 
shall) 'Bartlett, the former of whom was an en- 
terprising and progressive farmer of Cumming- 
ton Hill and a leading man in public affairs. 
Both were prominent members of the Presby- 
terian church. But one son of the three chil- 
dren born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
Tower is now living. This is Theodore P., 
whose birth occurred July 18, 1S60. He is a 
civil engineer and has charge of the State road 
which is now being constructed in the towns 
of Goshen and Weymouth. The deceased are : 
Arthur, who was born March 1, 1858, and 
died Octobers, 1859; and Bessie M., whose 
birth occurred April 9, 1867, and who died on 
September 22 of that same year. 

Mr. Tower is a Republican. He has been 
active in town affairs, and in 1870 was elected 
as Selectman. From 187S to 1880, and from 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1882 to 1S86, he served as chairman of that 
board. He acted as Collector three years, and 
has also acceptably tilled the office of Town 
Treasurer and Highway Surveyor. He is a 
believer in Spiritualism. 



Tkj\EV. BENJAMIN V. STEVENSON, 
I Sf^ a retired clergyman and an esteemed 
m-P v ^ resident of Ware, first opened his 
eyes on the world in Boston on Christmas 
morning, a.d. 181 5, son of William and Abi- 
gail (Varney) Stevenson. Mr. Stevenson is 
of Scotch descent. His great-grandfather, 
James Stevenson, came to this country from 
Glasgow, Scotland. His grandfather, Thomas 
Stevenson, was a baker in Boston, doing a 
good business. The latter married Sarah 
Chadwell, of that city; and they had a family 
of thirteen children, seven of whom the) 
reared. 

William Stevenson, lather of the Rev. Ben- 
jamin V. Stevenson, was born in Boston in 
1785. A pump and block maker by trade, he 
was an intelligent and well-read man, who, 
though not wealthy, was fairly prosperous, 
lived well, gave his children a good education, 
and died in 1841. His wife, .Abigail Varney, 
was the daughter of Benjamin Varney, who 
was also a pump and block maker, and taught 
William Stevenson his trade. Mrs. Stevenson 
lived to the age of seventy-five years, surviving 
her husband over thirty years. They were 
buried beside the grandparents in the old 
cemetery on Salem Street, Boston. Mr. and 
Mrs. Stevenson had a family of two boys and 
seven girls, and reared two suns and three 
daughters. But two are now living, the sub- 
ject of this sketch and his sister, Sarah Chad- 
well. The latter, widow of the late Robert 
W. Hall, who was once a prominent man in 
Boston and superintendent of public lands, is 



now eighty-five years of age, and is still active 
and in full possession of her faculties. She 
reared two sons and two daughters. 

Benjamin V. Stevenson finished his theolog- 
ical studies under Hosea Ballou, second, first 
President of Tufts College. At the age of 
twenty-nine he took charge of his first pasto 
rate at Bane, Mass., where he remained six 
years. He was subsequently pastor at New 
Bedford, Chicopee, Shelburne Falls, South- 
bridge, and Ware. He came to the latter 
town in 1882, and in 1885 purchased his 
present home at 81 Church Street. About six 
years ago Mr. Stevenson had a fall which dis- 
abled his lower limbs. This obliged him to 
retire from active pastoral work, but he is 
always ready to answer the calls of charity. 
He lives up to the teachings of the word 
which he was wont to preach, and is held in 
loving remembrance by his former parishioners. 

January I, 1845, he was united in marriage 
to Maria A. Standish, of Boston, who died 
August 2, [846. He was married a second 
time on Match 30, [848, to Huldah H. Sib- 
ley, of Bane, (laughter of Sardius and Betsey 
(Johnson) Sibley. Mrs. Stevenson's great- 
grandfather on the paternal side was Samuel 
Sibley, one of the early settlers of Barre, 
where he was a successful farmer. Her grand- 
father was Captain Charles Sibley, of Bane, 
an officer in the State militia, who served for 
many years in both chambers of the Massa- 
chusetts legislature. On the maternal side 
Mrs. Stevenson is a grand-daughter of Perry 
Johnson, of Barre. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson 
had three children, namely: Charles Sibley, 
who died in infancy; Maria Augusta, wife of 
A. G. Carley, of Northampton, who has one 
son; and William Henry, a prosperous grocei 
in Boston, who has three sons. 

Mr. Stevenson is advanced in Masonry, hav- 
ing passed three of the chairs, and belongs to 



'34 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. An 
extended account of his family history would 
be very interesting, as his grandparents were 
residents of Huston during the stirring times 
of the Revolution. He has in his possession 
a heavy solid silver spoon, given to him by his 
grandmother sixty-three years ago, that was 
made by Paul Revere. 




ILLIAM N. CLAIT, a member of 
one of the old families of New Eng- 
land, who lives on a farm in East- 
hampton, was born November 3, 18 10, near 
his present home, on a farm owned by his 
grandfather. He is a son of Solomon and 
Paulina (Avery) Clapp, and is a descendant, 
in the seventh generation, of Roger Clapp, 
who was born in Devon, England, April 6, 
1609, a member of "a godly family reared in 
Christian culture. " 

Roger Clapp came to this country in the 
ship "Mary and John," which bore a goodly 
company, including two magistrates and two 
ministers, and reached port May 30, 1630. He 
settled in Dorchester, Mass., where he held 
various public offices. In 1665 he was ap- 
pointed Captain of the fortifications on Castle 
Island in Boston Harbor, a position which he 
creditably filled for twentv years, resigning 
his commission when the tyrannical Andros 
was made governor of New England. Shortly 
after, in 1686, he removed to Boston, where 
he died in 1691, in his eighty-second year. 
Roger Clapp married Joanna, daughter of 
Thomas Ford, who, with her parents, came 
over in the same ship. Preserved Clapp, one 
of their fourteen children, born November 23, 
1643, settled in Northampton. He was a 
prominent man in the town, a Captain of a 
military company, a Representative to the Gen- 
eral Court, and a ruling Elder in the church. 



He died from the effects of a gunshot wound 
received from an Indian. 

Preserved Clapp married Sarah Newberry, of 
Windsor, Conn., who bore seven children, one 
of whom, named Roger, was the father of 
Major Jonathan Clapp, who settled in East- 
hampton about 1730. Jonathan Clapp was 
reared by his uncle, Samuel Bartlett, and 
inherited from him the corn-mill which he had 
had an early permit to build in Easthampton. 
Major Clapp was one of the leading men in 
the early history of the town. During the 
Revolution he showed his patriotism and his 
humanity by always keeping two large kettles 
of food over the fire to supply the soldiers who 
passed his house, each kettle holding thirty 
gallons; and the fire was constantly burning, 
so that the soldier could get his meal by day 
or night. He was the father of three sons and 
eight daughters. 

His youngest son, Benjamin Clapp, was 
born December 16, 1738. In 1766 he settled 
in Easthampton, taking up a large tract of 
land, which is now divided into some six 
farms, mostly in the possession of the family, 
the farm occupied by his grandson, William 
N., being a part of the original property. 
Benjamin Clapp, commonly called Quarter- 
master Clapp, served in the Revolutionary 
War. He died in 181 5, at the age of seventy- 
seven. A journal which he started on March 
9, 1767, is in the possession of his grandson, 
William N. Clapp, and is in a fair state of 
preservation. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Phebe Boynton, was a native of Coventry, 
Conn., born November 23, 1750. She was 
married in 1765, at fifteen, and lived to be 
ninety-seven, and died in December, 1847, 
retaining to the last activity of mind and body. 
Fifteen children were born to them, thirteen 
of whom reared families. 

Solomon Clapp was the eighth child of Ben- 




WILLIAM N. CLAPP. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'37 



jamin. His life began September 2, 1782, 
Easthampton being his birthplace; and the 
confines of that town bounded the horizon of 
his existence. He was engaged in general 
farming on the land bequeathed him by his 
father up to the time of his death, which 
occurred when he was forty-five years old. 
His wife, Paulina Avery, was a daughter of 
Abner Avery, a native of Wallingford, Conn., 
who removed to Northampton in middle life, 
later removing to Easthampton, where he died 
in 1836, at the age of eighty-eight. He was 
a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary army. 
Mrs. Paulina A. Clapp lived to be seventy-six 
years of age. Her remains are resting with 
those of her husband in the fine new cemetery 
at Easthampton. She was the mother of ten 
children, of whom William N. and three sis- 
ters are living, and six brothers have passed 
away. The youngest, George C, removed to 
Kasota, Minn., and, joining the army, soon 
rose from the ranks to a position of authoritv, 
his first service being in fighting the Indians. 

William N. Clapp was the second son of his 
parents. He acquired the rudiments of his 
education in the district schools, and was a 
student for a year at Hopkins Academy in 
Hadley, a noted school in those days. In his 
seventeenth year he was apprenticed to a jew- 
eller and watch-maker in Providence, with 
whom he remained but a few months, being 
called home in consequence of the death of his 
father. He succeeded to the possession of the 
home farm, and with the exception of three 
winters spent in teaching at South Amherst, 
Westhampton, and Grafton, his life has since 
been devoted to general farming. He has a 
roomy and homelike residence, which he built 
in 1S36, and owns a fine estate. 

Mr. Clapp has been married three times. 
His first wife, to whom he was united in 1833, 
was Tryphena Janes, the second daughter of 



Parsons Janes, of Easthampton. Her grand- 
father, Jonathan Janes, was a soldier in the 
French and Indian War, and was present at 
the surrender of Louisburg. Mrs. Tryphena 
J. Clapp died July 29, 1847, leaving four 
children, namely: Sarah Eugenia, who was 
educated at Williston and South Hadley Semi- 
naries, for ten years was a successful teacher 
in the public schools of Ohio and Massachu- 
setts, and is now the wife of George W. Guil- 
ford, of Swift River, Mass. ; William Edgar, 
who served in the Fifty-second Regiment, 
Massachusetts Volunteers, taking part in the 
siege of Port Hudsun, and now has a farm ad- 
joining his father's, and a wife and two chil- 
dren; Solomon Parsons, who died in 1S72, 
leaving a widow and one daughter, Rosa 
Ward, now deceased, another daughter, Min- 
nie P., being born after her father's decease; 
and Eliza Tryphena, who was first wife of 
George Guilford, and died February 18, 1879, 
leaving one daughter, Ena. 

On January 4, 1 S48, Mr. Clapp married 
Emily Janes, sister of his first wife. The two 
children born of this union, Emily Maria and 
Harriet Ellen, are both graduates of Mount 
Ilolyoke Seminary. Harriet Ellen, who also 
received a diploma for proficiency in music 
from Smith College, is now the wife of Fred 
E. Gates, of Springfield, Mo., and the mother 
of three children. Miss Emily M. Clapp was 
three years a teacher in Utah. Under the 
auspices of the New West Education Commis- 
sion she founded a school at Provo in 1883, 
and taught there two years. The school, 
which she left in a good condition, is now a 
large institution. She had peculiar difficulties 
to contend with, as Brigham Young Academy 
was at that time flourishing in Provo, which 
was the strongest Mormon town in Utah. 
Miss Clapp was three years connected with 
the American Missionary Association in the 



'38 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



South, and has taught in Massachusetts and 
Vermont. 

Mr. Clapp married in October, 1862, his 
present wife, Prudence T., daughter of Charles 
Wait, of Easthampton, formerly of Williams- 
burg. Her grandfather, Joseph Wait, of Will- 
iamsburg, was a Revolutionary soldier. Two 
children were born of this marriage, both now 
deceased. Mr. Clapp's grand-daughter, Caro- 
line T. Clapp, is a graduate of Mount Hol- 
yoke, has been a successful teacher in 
Waltham, and is now travelling in Europe. 
A grandson, William Clark Clapp, who was 
born on his grandfather's sixty-third birthday, 
is an enthusiastic market gardener with his 
father. 

William N. Clapp is a Republican in poli- 
tics, and has served many years as Collector of 
Taxes. He was Collector and Treasurer of the 
town from 1839 to 1854, and was Justice of 
the Peace twenty-one years, declining a re- 
newal of his commission; and many other 
offices were at his command, but he refused to 
cater to the political tastes of the times. He 
has been Trustee of the savings-bank since its 
organization. He is active in church work, 
and was collector and treasurer of the First 
Parish from 1839 to 1853, ceasing to act in 
that capacity on the formation of the Payson 
Congregational Church of Easthampton, to 
which he now belongs. An unmistakable 
likeness of this well-known citizen will be 
seen on a preceding page. 




ILLIAM W. ORCUTT, who is a 
prominent agriculturist of the town 
of Cummington, was born in the 
house where he now resides on March 17, 
1834, son of John and Hannah (Richards) 
( )rcutt, and grandson of Nathan and Eunice 
(Whitmarsh) Orcutt. 



Nathan Orcutt was a native of Abington, 
Mass. He came to this district, then almost 
a wilderness, in 1794, and purchased two hun- 
dred and twenty-five acres of land. This tract 
constitutes the farm now owned by William 
W. Orcutt. Grandfather Orcutt proceeded at 
once to clear the land and erect the necessary 
buildings. Later on he built a house, which 
in its day was one of the best in the town. 
As fast as he cleared his land he increased 
his stock of cattle, and in time became one of 
the largest stock-raisers in that vicinity. He 
sold his cattle in Boston, to which he drove 
them four times a year. These trips were 
made through an almost unsettled country, 
over a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. 
He served in the Revolutionary War as Lieu- 
tenant. In politics he was a Whig, while his 
religious belief was that of the Congregational 
church. His death occurred in 1820, at the 
age of sixty-five years. His wife, Eunice, 
died in 181 8, fifty-eight years old. They 
reared five children : Sally, Joseph, Nathan, 
John, and Hulda. 

John Orcutt, the youngest son of his par- 
ents, was born in the house first erected on the 
site of the one now occupied by his son. He 
worked with his father until manhood, and 
then he went into business as a wool buyer, 
purchasing largely throughout the surrounding 
towns. When at his father's death the farm 
was divided among the three sons, he received 
the homestead for his share. Besides his wool 
buying he dealt quite extensively in fat cattle 
and sheep, and made a specialty of raising and 
matching oxen, for which he often received 
fancy prices. He was considered one of the 
best judges of live stock in that locality. He 
bought the old academy in the village of Cum- 
mington, which he used as a storehouse for 
his wool ; and later on he purchased one hun- 
dred and fifty acres of land adjoining his home- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



'39 



stead. His death occurred in 1871, when he 
was eighty-one years of age. II is wife, Han- 
nah Richards before marriage, a daughter of 
Nehemiah and Hannah Richards, bine him five 
children: Clarinda, Mary A., Lysander, Vesta, 
and William W. He was a Whig in politics 
until the formation of the Republican party, 
of which thereafter he became a firm sup- 
porter. He took much interest in public af- 
fairs, but declined to serve in office. He was 
also interested in church work, and contributed 
largely toward the erection of the Congrega- 
tional church. 

William W. Orcutt after attending the dis- 
trict school in his native town went to the 
seminary at Deerfield and to the Ashfield ami 
Shelburne Falls Academies. At eighteen 
years of age he began teaching, and this dur- 
ing the winter season continued to be his 
employment fur ten years. His summers were 
spent in farming. He conducted a select 
school in the village of Cummington for some 
time. At his father's death he gave up teach- 
ing and took charge of the old homestead, 
which he still owns, together with two bun- 
dled and fifty acres of land. He keeps a dairy 
of twenty cows, the cream from which he dis- 
poses of to the Cummington Creamery. He 
has also dealt in cattle to some extent, and 
raised some fine horses. His farm shows him 
to be a progressive agriculturist, one who 
believes that improvements pay. 

On December 2, 1S57, he was joined in 
marriage with Miss Mar}- Sprague, a daughter 
of Eli and Mary (Reed) Sprague, the former 
of whom was engaged in the tanning business 
in Ashfield, Mass. They had six children. 
( If the number two have died, namely : Charles, 
when four years old; and Fred A., at the age 
of twenty-three years. Those living are: Elli- 
ott, born January 22, i860, residing in Den- 
ver, Col., who married Miss Carrie Macomber, 



and has five children — Mabel, Mary, John, 
Vesta, and Brown; Willie M., born October 
5, 1863, now in California, where he is en- 
gaged prospecting; Arthur, born July 5, 1 S 7 5 , 
living at home; and John, bom May 1, 1877, 
also at home. 

Mr. Orcutt is a stanch Republican. In 
1887 he was sent as a Representative to the 
legislature from the Second Hampshire Dis- 
trict. For twenty years he has served as 
Moderator of his town, and as member of the 
School Committee for fifteen years. He is 
also active in church work, and for several 
years has acted as a teacher in the Sunday- 
school of the Congregational church. Mr. 
Orcutt is well known and highly esteemed, not 
alone in his own town, but wherever his busi- 
ness or social interests have called him. 




,ICHARD HARNEY, a well-to-do 
farmer oi Worthington, was born in 
Blackburn, England, June 15, 1827, 
son of Richard and Jane (Tomlinson) Harney. 

Mr. Harney's father was engaged in different 
kinds of employment, and resided in England 
until his death. His mother had four other 
children: Thomas, William, Jane, anil John. 
She also died in England. 

Richard Harney commenced to work in a 
cotton factory at an early age. Having ac- 
quired a good knowledge of the business he- 
was in time advanced to the position of oxer- 
seer. On September 30, 1863, he embarked 
for the United States, in company with his 
wife and seven children. After arriving in 
New York City he went to Cohoes, N.Y., 
where he found employment in a cotton factory 
for one year. He then moved to Easthamp- 
ton, Mass., and secured a position in another 
factory of the same kind. During the eigh- 
teen years that he spent there he earned the 



1 I i 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



character of a capable and reliable workman. 
In 1SS3 he removed to Worthington and pur- 
chased the farm on which he now resides. 
The property included seventy acres of im- 
proved land, which he has since cultivated in- 
dustriously. He devotes himself chiefly to 
general farming and dairying. 

On December 24, 1847, Mr. Harney was 
united in marriage to Ann Tempest. She was 
born in England, March 12, 1827, daughter of 
John and Mary Tempest, the former of whom 
was engineer of a large cotton-mill, an occupa- 
tion which he followed until his death. Both 
parents of Mrs. Harney died in England. Mr. 
and Mrs. Harney have had ten children. Six 
of them survive, and are as follows : John, 
married to Henrietta Comstock, and foreman 
of a cotton factory in New Bedford, Mass. ; 
Mary, wife of James Tetlow, a loom repairer 
of Adams, Mass. ; Jane, wife of Frederick 
White, a teamster of Holyoke, Mass. ; Rich- 
ard, married to Mary Lamprey, and residing 
in New Bedford, Mass. ; William, wedded to 
Dora Schroeder, and a mule spinner in Taun- 
ton, Mass. ; and Sarah, who resides at home. 
Those deceased were: Thomas, Hannah, Eliza- 
beth, and Joseph. 

Mr. Harney was formerly a teacher of a 
Sabbath-school in England. Both he and his 
wife are members of the Congregational church 
in Worthington, and are actively interested in 
church work. 



YJ2)TARVEY RHOADES, a successful 
r^-j farmer of Chesterfield, was born in 
J-> 9 v_> that town, December 26, 1831, son 
of Chapman and Cynthia (Cogswell) Rhoades. 
Chapman Rhoades, also a native of Chester- 
field, followed farming as an occupation on the 
estate now held by his son Harvey. His 
death occurred July 8, 1856. Llis wife, Cyn- 
thia Cogswell, likewise born in Chesterfield, 



became the mother of nine children. Of the 
number John, Mary Ann, Norman, and Joseph 
are deceased. Those surviving are: Horace, 
who married Sabrina Pomeroy, and resides in 
Chesterfield; Harvey, the subject of this 
sketch ; Sarah, widow of Charles Thayer, who 
formerly lived in Williamsburg, and now re- 
sides in Somerville, Mass. ; Jane, who resides 
in Loudville, and is the widow of Medad Pom- 
eroy; and Jeannette, who married G. Higgins, 
and resides in Springfield, Mass. The mother 
died July 6, 1870. 

Harvey Rhoades attended the schools of his 
native town, and has always resided upon 
his farm. He succeeded to the ownership of 
the property after the death of his father, 
and has since followed agriculture with suc- 
cess. The land consists of two hundred acres, 
and is devoted to general farming. Mr. 
Rhoades is a Republican in politics, and 
has always supported the principles of that 
party. 

On October 21, i860, Mr. Rhoades was 
united in marriage to Sarah J. Damon. She 
was born in Goshen, Mass., December 10, 
1843, daughter of Gershom C. and Sarah 
(Bird) Damon, the former of whom was a 
native of Chesterfield, where he died. Her 
mother, who was born in Williamsburg, 
Mass., still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades 
have had five children, namely: Frederick, 
born October 2, 1863, and married to Rebecca 
Valcourt, who is now deceased; William, born 
February 6, 1 866, married to Eva Bisbee, and 
residing on a farm adjoining that of his par- 
ents; Nellie Bird, born November 5, 1871, 
who died November 29, 1878; Joseph, born 
November 18, 1878, residing at home; and 
Jennie Belle, born July 3, 1880, also residing 
at home. Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades are members 
of the Congregational church, of which Mr. 
Rhoades is a Deacon. 




GEORGE E. FISHER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



/George w. cowing, a well-to-do 

V \2) I farmer of Williamsburg, was born 
in that town April 22, 1842, son of 
William and Rebecca (Loomis) Cowing. His 
grandfather, Thomas Cowing, was probably 
born in Worthington, was a weaver by trade, 
and owned land in Worthington, where he died 
at an advanced age, having reared five chil- 
dren: Zalman, Emerson, William, Caroline, 
and Irene. 

William Cowing, father of George W. , 
when a young man, went to work in the Hay- 
denville manufactory at Williamsburg, and 
remained there many years. At the time of 
the war he enlisted in the army, and while in 
the service was taken sick with fever, and died 
at the age of forty-six years. His wife had 
died in 1845. They were the parents of four 
children: Emory, George W., Mary, and 
Nancy. 

George W. Cowing received a fair education 
in the schools of Williamsburg. He worked 
as a farm hand for some time, saving his earn- 
ings until he had accumulated some money. 
Then he purchased a place in Whately, and for 
two years was engaged in general farming. 
He then entered the employ of the Connecticut 
River Railroad Company, and was section 
master for nine years. In 1890 he bought the 
Lawyer White farm in Williamsburg. This 
property had been in the hands of the White 
family for one hundred and ten years. It 
comprises thirty acres of good land, quite con- 
veniently located, being only half a mile from 
the post-office. There, in addition to the usual 
farming operations, he conducts a small dairy. 
He has made many improvements on the es- 
tate, which bear the stamp of his good man- 
agement. 

Mr. Cowing was twice married. His first 
wife, whose maiden name was Martha Burton, 
died at the age of thirty-five, leaving one son, 



Wilson, a book-keeper in the Haydenville 
Brass Works, and married for some time to 
Miss Gettie Black. Mr. Cowing's second 
wife was formerly Miss Carrie Sleigher. No 
children have been born of this union. 

In politics Mr. Cowing is a Republican. 
On the subject of religion his opinions are 
liberal. He is one of the representative citi- 
zens of Williamsburg, and is highly esteemed 
in the town. 



-rj^EV. GEORGE E. FISHER, of North 
I ,~V^ .Amherst, pastor of the Congregational 
*-? V_ ^ church in Leverett, Mass., was 
born in Harvard, Worcester County, Mass., 
January 22, 1823, son of the Rev. George and 
Mary (Fisk) Fisher. Mr. Fisher's grand- 
father, Luther Fisher, was a prosperous farmer 
of Wrentham, Mass. His son George was 
born in Wrentham, November 7, 1796, and 
graduated from Brown University, Provi- 
dence, R. I., being a classmate of Horace 
Mann. He was a ripe scholar and became a 
prominent Congregational minister, preaching 
in Harvard. The Rev. George Fisher died in 
September, 1S53, at the age of fifty-six years 
and ten months. His wife, Mary Fisk, who 
was a daughter of the Rev. Pllisha l 7 isk, 
was bom in Wrentham, November 9, 1801. 
They were married December 12, 1 82 1, and 
she became the mother of six children, as fid- 
lows: PTizabeth S. , deceased: Harriet F., 
who married William A. Parker, of Harvard, 
and is now dead; Charles Luther, who died in 
infancy; Mary R., widow of Andrew Farwell, 
of Harvard ; Henry M., a resident of Milford, 
Mass.; and George E., the subject of this 
sketch. Mrs. Mary F. Fisher died April 29, 
1852. 

George E. Fisher commenced his education 
in his native town, and fitted for college at 
the Lawrence .Academy in Groton, Mass. He 



'44 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



entered Amherst College in 1842, was grad- 
uated with the class of 1846, and immediately 
began his theological course at Andover Semi- 
nary. He was graduated from that institution 
in 1849, and was ordained a minister on Feb- 
ruary 27, 1850. Since his ordination Mr. 
Fisher has been pastor of the following 
churches: the Congregational church in Rut- 
land, Mass., which was his first charge, and 
where he remained for three years; at North 
Amherst six years; Greenville, N. H., for 
three years; Ashburnham, Mass., five years; 
South Hadley Falls from 1867 to 1879; East 
Amherst from 1879 to 1885, at which time he 
moved to North Amherst, where he now re- 
sides. Since 1886 Mr. Fisher has been pastor 
of the Congregational church in Leverett. 
He is a Republican in politics, and takes a 
deep interest in all important issues of the 
day. In 1867 he ably served as a Representa- 
tive to the legislature from the district which 
includes Ashburnham and Winchendon. 

The Rev. Mr. Fisher's first wife, whom he 
married May 1, 1S50, ami who died August 8, 
1858, was Harriet B. Holt, of Amherst. On 
September 7, 1859, Mr. Fisher wedded for his 
second wife Ellen E. Kellogg. She was born 
in North Amherst, September 25, 1833, 
daughter of Lyman and Mary A. (Porter) Kel- 
logg. Lyman Kellogg was a native of Am- 
herst, and was a successful farmer. He died 
in North Amherst, October 19, 1885, just 
thirty-one days after the death of his wife. 
Mrs. Kellogg was born in Bolton, Conn., on 
the 1 8th of September. She and her husband 
were members of the Congregational church. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have had four chil- 
dren, namely: Hattie H., who was born in 
Greenville, N.H., May 22, 1861, and died 
July 29 of the same year; Alice Belle, born in 
Ashburnham, Mass., February 25, 1864, and 
died September 14, 1865; George ^Lyman, 



born in South Hadley Falls, June 18, 1869, 
and died July 27, 1870; and Nellie Kellogg, 
born in South Hadley Falls, January 14, 
1874, and died December 25, 1886. 

Deeply imbued with the spirit of his sacred 
calling, for which he has an inherent love and 
capacity, the Rev. George E. Fisher has 
preached and faithfully devoted himself to his 
other pastoral duties continuously since 1850, 
exerting a moral and spiritual influence which 
has been widely felt. Mr. Fisher and his 
wife occupy a very pleasant home in North 
Amherst, and are highly esteemed members 
of the community, Mrs. Fisher also being ac- 
tively interested in the work of the church. 
The accompanying portrait of Mr. Fisher will 
be recognized with pleasure by his parishioners 
and many other warm friends. 




LDEN D. REED, a prosperous farmer 
of Prescott, was born in South Am- 
herst, Mass., May 22, 1852, son of 
Dwight A. and Mary A. (Haskins) Reed. 
Grandfather William Reed was an early settler 
in Shutesbury, where he was a farmer during 
the active period of his life. He owned a 
good farm, which lie cultivated with profit, 
and was known as a conscientious man, fair 
and upright in his dealings and of broad and 
liberal views respecting religious differences. 
In politics he supported the Whig party. He 
lived to the age of seventy-three years. Nine 
of his children grew to maturity, and five are 
still living, all of whom are over seventy years 
of age. Of his four sons Dwight A., Mr. 
Reed's father, is the youngest. 

Dwight A. Reed was born in Shutesbury. 
He learned the trade of a stone mason, which, 
with farming, constituted his principal occupa- 
tion through life. At the breaking out of the 
Civil War he enlisted as a private in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'45 



Fifty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers, and after one year, the stipulated term 
of his enlistment, he re-enlisted in the Thirty- 
seventh Regiment and served until the close 
of the war. He is now one of the oldest resi- 
dents of Shutesbury, has always been a stir- 
ring, energetic man, and is a Democrat in 
politics. Mr. Reed, Sr. , has been twice mar- 
ried. His first wife, who was a native of 
Shutesbury, died at the age of forty-two; and 
he is living with his second wife. He has 
been the father of fifteen children, of whom 
eleven are still living, namely: Mary; Lucy; 
Alden D., the subject of this sketch; 
Dwight, Jr. ; Luther; Alfred; George; Abbie; 
Rector; Jennie; and Susan. Those deceased 
were: Willie, Eva, Ella, and Elizabeth. 

Alden D. Reed was educated in the common 
schools of Shutesbury. At an early age he 
commenced work upon a farm, receiving six 
dollars per month for his first season's work. 
He continued as a farm assistant for some 
years. When twenty-one years old he left 
home, and was employed in a shoe factory in 
Hopkinton, Mass., for several years. In 1878 
be moved to Prescott and purchased the farm 
upon which he now resides. The property 
contains about one hundred and thirty acres of 
improved land, and is used in general fanning 
and dairying. He keeps from twenty-five to 
thirty head of cattle, and has erected a new 
residence. His other buildings are kept in 
the best of repair. 

On July 9, 1878, he was united in marriage 
to Ella S. Hamilton, daughter of Harrison and 
Lucy A. (Gilbert) Hamilton, of Shutesbury, 
and has had eight children; namely, Harry, 
I.ennie, Rector, Daisy, Mary, Helen, Guy, 
and Maud. The last named died at the age of 
ten years. 

Harrison Hamilton, Mrs. Reed's father, was 
born upon his present farm in Shutesbury, 



April 21, 1 8 1 9, son of Samuel and Natalie 
(Aldrich) Hamilton. The first ancestor of 
the family to settle in America was John 
Hamilton, Mr. Hamilton's great-grandfather. 
He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and on 
his arrival in New England first settled in 
Pelham and later in Shutesbury. where he 
bought a tract of five hundred acres, for which 
he paid one hundred and fifty dollars. This 
was previous to the chartering of Shutesbury 
as a town, and when the locality was still part 
of the wilderness. A sturdy pioneer, he soon 
cleared a good farm, upon which he resided 
for the remainder of his life. He was the first 
Representative to the General Court from 
Shutesbury, and he made the journey to Cam- 
bridge in company with his wife on horseback, 
she returning home alone with the horse. |ohn 
Hamilton was an uncle to the famous states- 
man, Alexander Hamilton, who met his death 
in a duel with Aaron Burr. Andrew Hamil- 
ton, Mr. Hamilton's grandfather, was born in 
Shutesbury and was a lifelong resident of that 
town. He resided upon the farm cleared by 
his father, and became a prosperous land-owner. 

Samuel Hamilton, Mr. Hamilton's father, 
was born in Shutesbury in January, 1 7 7 S . 
He followed agriculture at the old homestead 
successfully, and died in October, 1855. His 
wife, Natalie (Aldrich) Hamilton, who was 
born in New Salem in \~~~, became the 
mother of seven children, of whom Harrison, 
Mrs. Reed's father, is the only one now living. 
The others were : Fanny, Mixter, Nancy, Har- 
riet, Merritt, and Augusta. The mother died 
in January. 1854. 

Harrison Hamilton was educated in the dis- 
trict schools of Shutesbury, and in young man- 
hood learned the trade of shoemaker, which he 
followed as an occupation for upward of twenty 
years. He resided in Bernardston for five 
years, anil after conducting a mercantile busi- 



146 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ness on Shutesbury Hill for an equal length of 
time he returned to the old homestead in 1865, 
where he has since been profitably engaged in 
agriculture. His farm, which is a part of the 
original tract deeded to his great-grandfather, 
has been in the family's possession for one 
hundred and fifty years. Its extent now is 
about three hundred acres, located in Shutes- 
bury and in other towns. His son now shares 
its management, and both are counted among 
the wealthiest farmers in their section. Mr. 
Hamilton is a Democrat in politics, and has 
been Town Clerk and Treasurer for some 
years. He has been Postmaster of Shutesbury 
and chairman of the Board of Selectmen. 

Mr. Hamilton was married in 1845 to Lucy 
A. Gilbert, who was born in Shutesbury, June 
1, 1819. She became the mother of six chil- 
dren, as follows: Ella S. and William G., 
who are no longer living; Andrew J., who is 
in the insurance business in Athol, Mass. ; 
Emma L. , a teacher; Ella S. (second), who is 
now Mrs. Alden D. Reed; and William G. 
(second), who resides at the old homestead. 
Mis. Hamilton died in 1859. 

Mr. Reed is a Democrat in politics, but has 
always refused public office. He and his fam- 
ily attend the Congregational church. 




jICHAEL NORRIS, Postmaster at 
Southampton and a prosperous 
farmer, was born in this town, July 
3, 1854, son of Walter and Helen (Foley) 
Norris, both natives of Ireland. 

The father, born in Waterfo'rd, Ireland, in 
the year 1818, spent the early years of his life 
in the land of his birth. Leaving there in 
1852 to seek his fortune in America, he landed 
in New York. From there he went to Hol- 
yoke, Mass., where he had friends. He came 
to Southampton in 1857 and rented land for 



three years. Being a farmer by occupation, the 
investment repaid him, so that he was able to 
buy the farm now occupied by his widow. 
The property consists of one hundred acres of 
land, which at the time of purchase was but 
partly improved. He worked on it untiringly, 
and before his death, which occurred October 
3, 1S69, had it in a good yielding condition. 
He was a man of sterling character and loyal 
to all his obligations. His wife was born in 
Ireland in 1825, and courageously came alone 
to America in 1850. Four children were born 
of their union, as follows: Michael, the sub- 
ject of this sketch; John, born July 24, 1857, 
a section boss on the New York & Hartford 
Railway, married to Mary Kane (a native of 
Ireland), and father of four children — Julia, 
Walter, Edmund, and Mary ; Thomas, born 
June 7, i860, superintendent of a whip factory 
in Quebec, married to Mary Farrell, of West- 
field, and the father of one child, Walter L. , 
born in 1892; and Martin, born November 13, 
1863, yet unmarried, and living on the old 
homestead, where he is engaged in general 
farming. All were reared to lives of industry. 
After passing through the public schools they 
were sent to academies or seminaries to pursue 
the higher branches of study. The father was 
a Democrat in politics and an earnest worker 
for that party. He was a devout member of 
the Catholic Church of Easthampton, to 
which his widow and family still belong. 

Michael Norris was reared on the home 
farm, and since the death of his father has had 
its care and supervision. He is now assisted 
by his brother Martin. They carry on mixed 
husbandry, paying some attention to dairying 
and raising a good deal of tobacco, which they 
sell at the home markets. In 1886 Mr. Norris 
was appointed Postmaster, and in the dis- 
charge of his official duties has given universal 
satisfaction. A Democrat from his youth, he 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



147 



has never swerved from his allegiance to his 
party. As a citizen and as a business man he 
is held in high esteem throughout the com- 
munity, and has been chosen Selectman for 
several years. 

On June 4, 1S95, Mr. Norris was united in 
marriage with Mrs. Margaret Brophy, who was 
born in Southampton in April, 1864, being 
the daughter of John and Margaret Lavin, of 
this town, both now deceased. 



T^iUGENE H. LYMAN, conspicuously 

p! identified with the agricultural inter- 
""" — " ests of Hampshire County as one of 
its most skilful and enterprising farmers, owns 
and occupies a well-tilled farm in the town of 
South Hadley. He was bom August 10, 
icS44, in Hadley, being a son of A. H. and 
Amanda M. (Alvord) Lyman. 

The father was also born in Hadley, and 
here spent the greater part of his life. He 
was a hard-working and industrious man, en- 
gaged in agriculture the most of his time. In 
his later years he purchased the property 
known as the old Lyman farm, where his son 
now lives. He died while yet in the prime of 
life, leaving two children, Eugene and Irving 
L. The latter is now living in Lincoln, 
Neb., and is connected with a publishing 
house there. He has been married twice, the 
first time to Lizzie Connover, who died in 
1873; and the second time to Mary I lean, of 
Nebraska. The mother, whose early life was 
spent in Northampton, now makes her home 
with her son Eugene on the old homestead. 
Eugene H. Lyman was but six years old 
when his father died. He acquired his early 
education in the common schools. When a 
lad of thirteen years he began working on the 
home farm, laboring with fidelity, and there 
gleaning a practical knowledge of farming. 



Subsequently he and his brother assumed the 
entire control of the property, carrying it on 
in partnership until the brother removed to the 
Far West, since which time Mr. Lyman has 
managed it alone. He has been very success- 
ful. The farm, which contains one hundred 
acres of land, is in a fine state of cultivation. 
He carries on general farming, has a fine dairy 
of twelve cows, besides other stock, the prod- 
ucts of which he disposes of to the Granby 
Creamery, makes a specialty of poultry-rais- 
ing, which he finds quite profitable, and gives 
much attention to fruit growing, having so far 
made quite a success with peaches. 

Mr. Lyman's marriage with Miss Clara J. 
Stacy, a daughter of William Stacy, of South 
Hadley, occurred January 1, 1874. They had 
six children, as follows: Jennie A., a teacher 
in the public schools; Nellie E., deceased at 
the early age of nine years; William H., who 
died in infancy; Mary I.; Eugene H., Jr., 
who lived but two years; and Charles E. Mr. 
Lyman takes an active interest in promoting 
the welfare of his native town and county, 
uniformly giving his support to the cause of 
morality, sobriety, and good order, and is 
ranked among the most valuable citizens of 
the community. In politics he is an uncom- 
promising Republican, but is not an office- 
seeker, although he served his town during the 
years of [888 and [889 as Assessor. Relig- 
iously, both Mr. and Mrs. Lyman are active 
members of the Congregational church. 



.-* • *-» 




REDERICK II. JUDD, a gentleman of 
extended business experience ami an 
esteemed resident of Westhampton, was 
born here July 14, [839, being the descendant 
by both parents of old and honored pioneers of 
this section of Hampshire County. 

His father, John Adams Judd, was a lifelong 



c 4 8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



resident of Westhampton, and during the ear- 
lier years of his life was engaged in agricult- 
ure. Having the natural Yankee instinct for 
trade, however, he subsequently established in 
the village a store for the sale of general mer- 
chandise, and before many years became one 
of the most prominent merchants of Hamp- 
shire County. Later he was appointed Post- 
master, and thereafter attended to the duties 
of that office, as well as to his mercantile 
business, until his death, which occurred July 
25, i860. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Wealthy Kingsley, was born and bred in this 
town, and here spent her life, dying February 
13, 1876. The record of their children, four 
in number, is as follows: Amoret R., now 
deceased, was the wife of the late E. H. 
Lyman, formerly a prominent business man of 
this place, and for many years a member of 
the Board of Selectmen and a Count}' Commis- 
sioner; Jane W., the widow of Josiah Hooker, 
lives in Springfield, Mass. ; Harriet T. mar- 
ried Amos C. Shepherd, a carpenter in this 
town; and Frederick H. is the subject of this 
sketch. These children were given the best 
educational facilities afforded by the town. 
The)* attended public and select schools, and 
one of them graduated from the academy at 
Southampton. 

Frederick H. Judd, who attained his major- 
ity a few tlays prior to the death of his father, 
at once assumed charge of the store and post- 
office, and carried on the business for five 
years. Going then to Springfield he worked 
on a farm in that vicinity for a year, and was 
employed as a clerk in the city for two years. 
After remaining there another year, during 
which time he was engaged in the insurance 
business, he returned to Westhampton, and 
has since made his home in this village. In 
1880 he bought out his present business. He 
sells and repairs jewelry, and so far has met 



with limited success. A stanch adherent of 
the Republican party, Mr. Judd has served in 
various offices within the gift of his fellow- 
townsmen, always with credit to himself and 
to the satisfaction of all concerned. For the 
past twenty-five years he has been Town Clerk, 
and for some years was Town Treasurer and a 
member of the School Committee. He has 
always taken an active interest in religious 
work, and has served as clerk of the Congre- 
gational church for many years, he and his 
wife being among the prominent members of 
that organization. 

Mr. Judd was married October 15, 1862, to 
Miss Elizabeth A. Hubbard, a native of Will- 
iamsburg, Mass., and a daughter of Sylvanus 
Hubbard, who is still living in that town. 
Six children have been born of their marriage, 
as follows: Myra L. , wife of W. R. Jones, 
residing in Stamford, Conn.; Guy H., who 
died when nineteen years of age; Hattie F. ; 
Fred H., who died in infancy; Ada M. ; and 
Delbert L. 



M 



ANIEL W. WELLS, President of 
the Smith Charities of Northamp- 
ton, Mass., is widely known in this 
part of Hampshire County as an able finan- 
cier, a man of stanch integrity, and an es- 
teemed and valued citizen. He was born on 
his present homestead in Hatfield, April 17, 
1842, being a son of Elisha Wells, whose 
birth occurred at the same place, April 29, 
1797. 

The founder of the Wells family of Hatfield 
was Thomas Wells, who was born in England 
about 1620, and after reaching manhood came 
to this country, locating first at Wethersfield, 
Conn. According to the History of Hadley, 
his mother, the widow Frances Wells, married 
Thomas Coleman, and removed from Wethers- 
field to Hadley with her family, which in- 




DANIEL W. WELLS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REV] FAY 



eluded Thomas and his brother John Wells, 
in 1660. Thomas Wells died in 1676. He 
was the father of Thomas, Jr., whose son 
Ebenezer was born in Hadley, July jo, 1669. 
Ebenezer's son Joshua was burn in Hatfield, 
August 31, 1695. and died in Greenfield, 
April 1, 1768. The next in line, Elisha, son 
of Joshua, was born July 23, 1 ~ 5 1 . and lived 
until October 5, 1792. His son, Amasa 
Wells, who became the father of a second 
Elisha, was born September 23, 1762, and 
died in Hatfield, the place of his nativity, 
June 12, 1 8 16. 

Amasa Wells was one of the substantial 
farmers of Hatfield; and through his marriage 
with Eunice White, a daughter of Daniel 
White, of Hatfield, two families of promi- 
nence became connected. The White family 
were long conspicuous in military circles, 
some of its members having been officers in 
the State militia for three generations. A 
Daniel and a John Wells were among the sol- 
diers of the Revolutionary army, and -were 
killed at Crown Point. The present home- 
stead of Mr. Daniel W. Wells was the origi- 
nal land granted in 1660 to John White, the 
immigrant ancestor of Eunice White. It 
descended in the White family down to Daniel 
White, Eunice's father, and at length fell into 
the possession of his grandson, Elisha Wells, 
second. Amasa Wells and his wife reared 
five children: Horace; Cephas; Barnabas; 
Hannah, who married Joseph Smith: and 
Elisha. He lived a little past middle age; 
and his widow survived him, dying in Conway 
at the age of sixty-two years, although her 
home was in Hatfield until the year of her 
decease. 

Elisha Wells, son of Amasa and Eunice 
(White) Wells, was one of the most prosper- 
ous agriculturists of the town, and was a citi- 
zen of influence. He was a Democrat in 



politics, and represented his district in the 
legislature in 1848. ()n January 14, [823, 
he married Louisa Field, a daughter of Daniel 
and Tabitha (Clark) Field, of Conway, and of 
their six children that grew to maturity three 
are now living, namely: Hannah S. ; Daniel 
W.. with whom the sister makes her home: 
and Joseph S., his twin brother, who is now a 
steward at Mount Holyoke College at South 
Hadley. The father lived a long, useful life 
of nearly fourscore years, dying in 1873; aiu ' 
the mother, who survived him, died August 1, 
1878, aged seventy-five years. Both were 
attendants of the Congregational church and 
liberal contributors toward its support, Mrs. 
Wells being a member of the church. 

Daniel W. Wells, being the youngest child 
of the household circle, cared for his parents 
in their last years, and has made the home- 
stead on which he was born his permanent 
abiding-place. During the late Civil War 
Mr. Wells enlisted in Company K, Fifty-sec- 
ond Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, going 
out as a nine months' man, under General 
Banks. On his return he engaged in general 
farming, tobacco being his staple crop. He 
has been identified with the leading enter- 
prises and industries oi his native town, and 
holds a high position among its honest and 
law-abiding citizens. He is a man of excel- 
lent judgment and ability in business affairs, 
and has often hern called upon to act as ad- 
ministrator of different estates. For seven- 
teen years he has been one of the Directors of 
the First National Bank of Northampton, for 
six years a Trustee of the Smith Charities, 
and for five years has ably filled the position 
of president of the board. He is a firm 
adherent of the Democratic party, and has 
served in the State legislature two years, 1883 
and 1S84. 

On October i<>, [875, Mr. Wells w.ts united 



iS : 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in marriage with Hannah A. Balden, a daugh- 
ter of Deacon Reuben H. Belden, of Hatfield. 
This union has been brightened by the birth 
of two children: Reuben F., born in 1881; 
and Louisa B., born in 1884. A portrait of 
Mr. Wells is placed on a preceding page. 




(EWIS S. COWING, a successful 
farmer of Chesterfield, was born in 
Huntington, July 20, 1830, son of 
Job and Clarissa (Taylor) Cowing, the latter 
of Chester. Job Cowing, a native of Hunt- 
ington, was a farmer, and followed his calling 
in Chester, Huntington, and Worthington. 
The latter part of his life was spent in Leeds, 
Mass., where he died. His wife breathed her 
last in Chester, October 29, 1839. They 
were the parents of five children, namely: 
Lewis S., the subject of this sketch; John 
W., who married Laura Smith, and is now 
living near his brother Lewis; Nancy, wife of 
Edwin Dodge, of Worthington, Mass., who 
is a farmer; Mary, who died January 5, 1853; 
and Samuel D., who was married to Louise 
Hilman, now deceased, and resides in New 
Jersey. 

Lewis S. Cowing received a good common- 
school education. He began to work on his 
father's farm when a boy of twelve. At eigh- 
teen he abandoned farm work to learn tool- 
making at Ringville, Mass. In 1853 he 
moved to the Cole homestead in Chesterfield, 
and once more engaged in farming. Eleven 
years later he went to live on the farm where 
he now resides. This estate, containing one 
hundred acres, has been much improved by 
Mr. Cowing. Hay and corn are the staple 
products, and some stock is also raised. Mr. 
Cowing's methods are well up to date. 

On May 25, 1853, Mr. Cowing was united 
in marriage with Maryann, daughter of Con- 



sider and Deborah Cole, of Chesterfield. Mr. 
Cole was a well-to-do farmer, the property 
now owned by our subject originally belonging 
to him. He and his wife have both passed 
away. They were cared for in their old age 
by their daughter and her husband, who moved 
to the farm in Chesterfield in order to relieve 
the old folks of the cares incident to farm life. 
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Cowing was 
blessed by three children, namely: Horace 
W., a school-teacher, who was married first 
to Emily Streeter, and is now living with his 
second wife in Johnstown, N.Y. ; Truman 
S., formerly a teacher in Hampshire County, 
and now a railroad man in Charlotte, Mich., 
married to Libby Merritt ; and Mabel C, who 
died at the age of six years. Mrs. Cowing 
died February 8, 1885; and Mr. Cowing sub- 
sequently married Mrs. Ellen (Middlebrook) 
Sanderson, who died October 5, 1888. 

Politically, Mr. Cowing believes firmly in 
the principles of the Democratic party, has 
held several offices in the county, and is much 
respected by all who know him. 




ERRIAM KING, an energetic 
farmer of Prescott and a veteran of 
the Civil War, was born in New 
Salem, Mass., July 6, 1834, son of Joseph and 
Joanna (Vaughn) King. Mr. King's grand- 
father, Samuel King, was an early settler in 
New Salem, where he cleared and improved a 
good farm, upon which he resided for the re- 
mainder of his life. His family consisted of 
six children — three sons and three daughters 
— all of whom have passed away. 

Joseph King, father of Mr. King, was born 
and reared on the farm. He learned the trade 
of a carpenter, and followed that occupation 
in connection with farming. He was an in- 
dustrious and progressive man and a useful 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



r 53 



citizen. His latter years were passed upon 
the present farm of his son Merriam in Pres- 
cott, and lie lived to the age of eighty-four 
years. He was formerly a Whig in politics, 
but later supported the Republican part)'. 
His wife, Joanna Vaughn, who was a native 
of Shutesbury, Mass., became the mother of 
nine children, seven of whom grew to matu- 
rity. Of these twu are now living, namely: 
Lavonia, widow of Varnum V. Vaughn, who 
resides in New Salem: and Merriam, the sub- 
ject of this sketch. Those deceased were: 
Clarissa, Merrill, Joseph H.. John M., Maria, 
Sanford R., and Emory S. The mother lived 
to the age of eighty-four. Mr. King's parents 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 

Merriam King grew to manhood in New 
Salem, and received his education in the 
schools of that town. At the age of fifteen he- 
commenced life for himself by working in a 
box factory at fifteen dollars per month. 
After remaining there for a time, he engaged 
in various employments until July 26, 1S61, 
when he enlisted as a private in Company H, 
Twenty-first Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers, under Captain Rice, and served six 
months in the Civil War. He was honorably 
discharged December 31 of the same year on 
account of injuries received in a railroad acci- 
dent, from which he has never fully recovered. 
After leaving the service, Mr. King returned 
to his native State, and engaged in different 
occupations until 1885, when he purchased his 
present farm in Prescott, where he has since 
resided. His property consists of ninety 
acres of well-improved land; and, being 
thrifty and energetic, his farming operations 
have yielded satisfactory results. He is a 
Republican in politics, and has served with 
ability as a Selectman, Assessor, and Oxer- 
seer of the Poor for the past five years. 



Mr. King has been twice married. On No- 
vember 26, 1856, he wedded for his first wife 
Samantha Haskins, a native of New York 
State, who died January 25, 1857. On No- 
vember 26, 1863, he married for his second 
wife Laura A. Warner, daughter of Cullen ami 
Lucy (Cooley ) Warner. Cullen Warner was 
born in Sheffield, Mass., December 22, 1797, 
was a carpenter and a farmer, and resided in 
Greenwich for more than fifty years. He was 
prosperous in business, a Democrat in poli- 
tics, prominent in public affairs, and served 
as Selectman, Assessor, Town Clerk, and 
Representative to the legislature. He died 
in Greenwich, October 25, 1877. His wife, 
who was born in Brookfield, November 14, 
1795, had eleven children. Seven of these 
are now living, namely: Mary, George, Eliza, 
Ann W., and Phoebe M., who are residents of 
Greenwich; Jennie, who resides in Spring- 
field; and Laura A., now Mrs. King. Those 
deceased were: Lucy A., Caroline, Maria, 
and Erank M. The mother died in Green- 
wich, December IO, 1857. Mr. and Mrs. 
King have one daughter, named Leona M., 
who was born December 30, 1885. Mrs. 
King is a member of the Congregational 
church. 



"^ATHANIEL W. FARRAR, druggist 
in the employ of C. J. Smith at East- 
- V. hampton, Mass., was born in Steu- 
benville, Jefferson County, Ohio, on July 26, 
1S39, son °f Oscar Chandler and Elsie Ann 
(Patterson) Farrar. 

John Farrar, his great-grandfather, was a 
patriot soldier of the Revolutionary War. 
His son Nathaniel removed in 1828 from the 
East to Ohio, where the last years of his life 
were passed. He died in Madison, eighty- 
three years of age, leaving one son and three 
I daughters. His son, Oscar Chandler Farrar, 



•5 1 



BIOGR MMIUAI. REVIEW 



father oi Mr. Farrar, was born in Shelburne, 
Mass., December 2S, 1817, and now resides at 
Erie, Pa. Oscar's wife was bom in Gaines- 
ville, Wyoming County, N.N.. and had 
by him five children, as follows: Nathaniel 
William: Chester Hinsdale, deceased; Orrell 
P., a machinist, residing in Columbus, Ohio; 
Myra, tin- wife <<i John Scott, of Ha 

mnty, Pa.; ami Alma, mar- 
ried to John Stephenson, and now living in 
Toledo. Ohio. 

Mr. Farrar received his education in Ohio 
and at the schools of Beloit, Rock County, 
Wis. In 1858 he engaged in teaching, but 

>k it after a short time. i")n August 24, 
[861, he enlisted in the ranks oi Company G 
ot the Thirteenth Wisconsin Regiment, and 
served in the Civil War for four rears and five 
months, after which he was honorably dis- 
charged. For the larger part oi that time he 

letailed to the hospital service. On the 
[2th ot May, 1869, he was united in marriage 
with Mis-. Lucinda S. Midlam, oi Albany, 
V\. They have a daughter. Olive Louise. 
who is a teacher, and lives at home. He 
came to Easthampton in May, [873, and since 
that time has been in his present 

position, giving satisfaction not alone to his 
employer, but to their numerous patrons. 

The Republican party counts Mr. Farrar as 
one of its most faithful adherents. lie is a. 
member oi lake Erie 1 N 

Girard, Pa., A. F. & A. M.. and is als 
member ot Posl No. . Grand Army of the 
Republic, in nearly all oi the offices of which 
he has s< 



7"^\HAR1 ES N. DYER, merchant. Post- 
master, and Town Clerk of Plainfield, 



V^ 



was born in that town. Januar) ". 
, son Newell and Mary Ann (Whit- 

marsh) Dyer. Mr. Dy< 's grandfather, Jesse 



Dyer, was a son of Christopher Dyer, Jr. 
Jesse Dyer was a native of Abington, Mass.. 
and settled in the town of Ashtield about the 

1 le bou- lit a tract of one hun 
acres, which he improved into a good farm, 
first building a small house and later a largei 
and more substantial residence. lie was the 
first settler in that part oi Ashtield, and he 
became a well-to-do farmer. He died in 
1S54. aged eighty-five years: and his farm is 
now owned by B. M. Dyer. On October 4. 
-. he married Sally Tool: and she became 
the mother of the following children: Jared, 
Oakes. Bela, Albert. Sarah. Samuel, and 
Newell. The mother died in 1852, aged 
seventy-three years. 

New ell Dyer, Mr. Oxer's father, was born 
in Ashfield, January 23, 1818. He succeeded 
to the ownership of his father's farm, which 
he conducted for five years. Selling the 
property, he moved to Plainfield, where he 
bought the Deacon Richards farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty-five acres, which he improved 
considerable extent. He resided there 
for eight years, at the expiration of which he 
sold, and purchased the farm which is now 
owned by J. W. Sears, together with an ad- 
joining farm and some outlying lots. He was 
a successful farmer, a Republican in politics, 
and a Congregational ist in his religious be- 
lief. He died at the age of fifty-four. His 
first wife. Mary Whitmarsh before marriage, 
was a daughter of Jacob Whitmarsh. She be- 
came the mother of one son, Charles X., the 
subject oi this sketch. She died in i> 

Forty-seven years. Newell Over wedded 
for his second wife Mrs. Lydia Sears, who 
survives him. and is now the wife of Lemuel 
5S, : Ashfield. 

( aides N. Dyer was educated in the 
schools of his native town, and at the age ot 
sixteen became a clerk in a general store in 



hloGRAI'IIHWr, REVIEW 






Hadley, where he remained foi one year. He 
then taught school for seven succeeding win- 
ters, his summers being oci upied in agri< ult- 
ural pursuits. He then went to Northamp- 
ton, where he worked at the machinist's trade 
until the death of his fathei i i i ed him to 
return to Plainfield. He conducted the farm 
for ten years, and then engaged in mercantile 
business in the store which is now oo 
as a resilience by J. W. Sears. Aftei con- 
ducting a successful business for seven y< 
he sold this store: and, purchasing a lot of 
land adjoining the town hall, he erected his 
present place of business, which he opened in 
1887. He carries a large and varied stock oi 
general merchandise, and enjoys a liberal pat- 
ronage. Mr. Dyer is a Republican in poli- 
tics, and is prominent in local affairs. ll<- 
was a member of the School Committee for 
twelve years, lias been Town Clerk and Treas- 
urer since 1 876, Justice of the Peace since 
1884, and was appointed Postmaster in (889, 
a position which he still holds to general 
satisfaction,. 

On October 6, 1X72, Mr. Dyer was united 
in marriage to M. Antoinette ford. She was 
born in Hinsdale, Mass., April 2, 1852, 
daughter of William R. and Cornelia (Worth- 
ington) Ford, the former of whom is a pros- 
perous farmer of Peru, Mass. Mr. and Mis. 
Dyer have three children, namely: Albert F., 
born August 2, 1873; Genevieve L., born 
June 7, 1880; and Frederick C, born August 
16, 1882. 

Mr. Dyer has compiled and issued a com- 
plete history of the town of Plainfield from 
1785 to 1891, including biographical sketches 
of twenty-three of the early settlers, with 
their family genealogy. The work, which 
was published in 1891, contains one hundred 
and eighty-seven pages, is well illustrated, 
and bound in cloth. Five hundred copies 



printed, and the book was sought for and 
highly prized by residents of the town. 




LIVER DRAGON, partner in the 
firm of La Famboise & Dragon, black- 
smiths of Northampton, is a nati 
Canada, and was born in the town of St. 
Denis, on the Richelieu River, March 
1842. 

His grandfather, Hypolite Dragon, was a 
native of France. When a young man, he 
1 inula, where the rest of his 
life was spent. He was the father of sixteen 
children, of whom twelve grew to maturity. 
Of these a number lived to an advanced 
< )ne son, Andrea Dragon, died when within 
but three years of being a centenarian. 
Lewis Dragon, the lather of Oliver, was born 
in St. Denis in 1793. His life was spent in 
his native town, where he was a prosperous 
farmer. His death occurred when he was 
seventy-four years of age. He married Miss 
Mary Louise Lefebvre, who bore him thirteen 
children, and of the eight that reached matu- 
rity four sons and one daughter are now living, 
namely: Lewis, in Kansas City, Mo.; Nel- 
son, in Northampton; Theodule, in Holyoke; 
Joseph, in St. Louis, Mo.; Philomena Gmi- 
let, who lives with her parents in St. Denis: 
and Oliver, the subject of this sketch. 

Oliver lived at home until he was sixteen 
years of age, by which time he was familiar 
with farming. That, however, was not his 
choice of an occupation. He preferred to be 
a blacksmith, and he then left home to learn 
that trade by serving an apprenticeship of 
three years. His wages during that period 
were: first year, one dollar per month; sec- 
ond year, one dollar and a quarter per month ; 
third year, one dollar and a half per month, 
including board. In 1867 he went to Chi- 



■56 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



cago, 111., where for three years he worked at 
both his own trade and that of a carpenter. 
He went to Kansas City in 1X70, and was 
employed in blacksmithing alone for about 
two years. After this he came East, and set- 
tled in Northampton. 

He first worked as a journeyman for four 
years. Then on July i, 1875, in partnership 
with Mr. La Famboise, he established his 
present thriving business. They undertake 
all kinds of blacksmith work, but they make a 
specialty of horseshoeing. 

In Canada, on May 20, 1S68, Mr. Dragon 
was joined in marriage with Miss Angele 
Levitre. Fourteen children were the fruit 
of their union, and ten are now living. They 
are as follows: George J., a drug salesman 
and pharmacist in Springfield, Mass., mar- 
ried, and the father of one daughter; Ida, a 
dressmaker in Springfield; Eva and Emma, 
who live at home, and are engaged in dress- 
making; Oswald, a young man of eighteen 
years, employed in his father's shop; Raoul, 
Lorenzo (aged fourteen years), Anna (aged 
eleven), Bernadette (aged nine), and Roderick 
(aged seven), attending school. 

In political matters Mr. Dragon is not a 
party man. He has served twice as a mem- 
ber of the Common Council, being elected on 
an Independent ticket. He belongs to the 
Knights of Pythias, and is also a member of 
the St. John the Baptist Society, of which he 
has been Treasurer for fifteen years. The 
family are members of the French Catholic 
church, and he is one of its Trustees. 




1LLIAM COOLEY DICKINSON, 
of Hatfield, proprietor of the Con- 
necticut River Stock Farm and an 
extensive tobacco grower, was born in this 
town, September 8, 1853, son of William 



Henry and Angelina (Waite) Dickinson. 
Mr. Dickinson is a descendant of Nathaniel 
Dickinson, who emigrated from England, and 
settled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1637. He 
became a prominent man in the colony, and 
served as Town Clerk and Representative to 
the General Court. In 1659 he moved to 
Hadley, Mass., where he died in 1676, leav- 
ing several children. Two of his sons, Aza- 
riah and Joseph, were killed by the Indians 
in King Philip's War, Joseph being slain with 
Captain Beers on September 4, 1675. Na- 
thaniel Dickinson, second, son of Joseph, was 
born in 1670, and died in 1745. His son, 
Obadiah Dickinson, was born in Hadley on 
July 28, 1704, and died June 24, 1788. He 
settled in Hatfield, where he became a large 
land-owner, and was for many years a Deacon 
of the Congregational church. He married 
for his second wife Martha Wait; and his son 
Elihu by this marriage was the great-grand- 
father of William. Cooley Dickinson. The 
children of Elihu Dickinson were as follows: 
Cotton D., Israel, William, Pamelia, ' Silas, 
Clarissa, and two who died in infancy. 

William Dickinson, third son of Elihu, was 
born in Hatfield, June 13, 1783. He in- 
herited the homestead, and became the largest 
real estate owner in the town. He was pos- 
sessed of a strong constitution, and continued 
active until within a short time previous to 
his death, which occurred December 29, 1870. 
He married on January 20, 18 14, Fanny 
Smith, a- daughter of Lieutenant Samuel 
Smith, a soldier of the Revolutionary War. 
Mr. and Mrs. William Dickinson were the 
parents of three children: John, Mary, and 
William Henry. The mother died February 
21, i S 5 3 , aged sixty-five years and six 
months. 

William Henry Dickinson was born at the 
ancestral homestead ~ in Hatfield, March 4, 



■> 





WILLIAM H. DICKINSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'50 



1820. He received his education at Hatfield 
and the Leicester Academy, and succeeded to 
the ownership of the home property. He be- 
came a land and stock speculator, owning land 
in Iowa, and is largely interested in native- 
bred cattle. He has likewise been an exten- 
sive farmer and tobacco grower, possessing 
some fine land upon the Hatfield meadows, 
which is especially adapted for that purpose. 
In 1875 he erected a new and handsome three- 
story house to replace the old Dickinson resi- 
dence, which had been the birthplace of four 
generations; and he has built modern farm 
buildings. Besides his family dwelling he 
owns three tenement-houses. He is a Direc- 
tor of the Hampshire County National Bank, 
and is President of the Board of Trustees of 
Smith Academy, and one of the Trustees of 
the Cooley Dickinson Hospital. 

William H. Dickinson is a Republican in 
politics. He represented his district in the 
legislature in 1853 and again in 1859. Dur- 
ing the Civil War he served as chairman of 
the Board of Selectmen, and rendered valuable 
aid to the government in procuring recruits 
for the army. His wife, Angelina Waite, 
whom he wedded November 30, 1842, was 
born October 14, 1822, daughter of Justin and 
Olive (Cooley) Waite. Her father was a na- 
tive of Hatfield and a representative of a 
highly respected family. Mr. and Mrs. Will- 
iam H. Dickinson have had four children, of 
whom only one, William Cooley, is now liv- 
ing. James W., born October 24, 1844, died 
November 10, 1868; he married Avie M. 
Wood, and they had a daughter,- Mary J. 
Mary S. Dickinson, born October 14, 1847, 
died August 13, 1849. Sarah E., born 
November 23, 1851, became the wife of 
E. A. Bardwell, and died August 10, 1876, 
leaving one child, James D. Mr. and Mrs. 
William H. Dickinson are among the most 



prominent and highly esteemed residents of 
Hatfield. 

William Cooley Dickinson has been in 
these later years closely identified with his 
father's business ventures. He is now 
largely interested in the cultivation of to- 
bacco, and devotes much time and attention 
to the breeding of fine horses, being the 
owner of some excellent and speedy animals, 
including Electmont, one of the best-bred 
stallions in the county. His stables are 
equipped with all modern conveniences for 
boarding and training horses, and in that busi- 
ness he has been very successful. 

Mr. Dickinson was married on November 4, 
1 89 1, to Clara L. Graves, who was born Oc- 
tober 9, 1867, daughter of Thaddeus and Mary 
H. (Hubbard) Graves. Thaddeus Graves is a 
prosperous farmer and a leading business man 
of Hatfield. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have 
two children; namely, William H. and Mary 
G. Mr. William C. Dickinson is a Republi- 
can in politics. His father, Mr. William 
Henry Dickinson, a portrait of whom is pre- 
fixed to this partial record of the family, is of 
the seventh generation from the first Nathan- 
iel; and he has two great-grandchildren, who 
represent the tenth generation from that emi- 
grant ancestor. 



Yp)TlRAM TAYLOR, who is a well-to-do 
r^H farmer of Middlefield, was born in 
Ji 9 y „ this county, December 16, 1818, 
son of Worcester and Phoebe (Loveland) Tay- 
lor. The father, who was a native of the 
county, throughout his life was engaged in 
farming, in which he was unusually success- 
ful. He was Captain of a military company; 
and he died on June 6, 1S26. His wife, also 
born in the county, died on the same day and 
month, but fifty-nine years later, having at- 



i6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tained the age of eighty-nine. Their union 
was made happy by the birth of four sons and 
a daughter: Worcester, Hiram, Lewis, Caro- 
line, and Royal. Both parents were members 
of the Congregational church, in which they 
were zealous workers. 

Hiram Taylor, who at his father's death 
was but eight years old, was then put out 
with the family of Deacon Gamwell, with 
whom he lived until he was twenty-one years 
of age. At that time he got possession of the 
old homestead by purchasing the rights of the 
other heirs, and with his mother he has re- 
sided there since. He deals quite extensively 
in stock, and makes a specialty of fattening 
and shipping cattle to market. His stock is 
mostly short-horn and Hereford. He now 
owns about seven hundred acres of land, the 
larger part of which is divided between past- 
urage and meadow. Not until after his 
mother's death and he was well advanced in 
years did Mr. Taylor seek a wife. On No- 
vember i, 1889, he was married to Miss Car- 
rie Porter. She was born on September 17, 
1853, and is a daughter of Theodore Porter, 
a native of Hatfield, Mass., who is now resid- 
ing in Florence, where he is profitably en- 
gaged in farming. 

Mr. Taylor is a loyal Republican and an ar- 
dent advocate of the principles of his party. 
Among the offices of trust and responsibility 
which he has filled may be mentioned those of 
Constable and Collector for eight years, As- 
sessor for six years; and for three years he 
has served as a delegate to the State Board of 
Agriculture. In 1893 he was sent by his 
district as a Representative to the State legis- 
lature. For upward of fifty years Mr. Taylor 
has been a communicant of the Congrega- 
tional church, which for a long time he has 
served as Deacon and Trustee, and has always 
been one of its most liberal supporters. 



Tt^NOBERT W. LYMAN, Register of 
I ^tf^ Deeds at Northampton, Mass., the 
m-P V_ ^ shire town of Hampshire County, 
is a liberally educated gentleman, a lawyer by 
profession, and a representative of an old Co- 
lonial family well known in these parts for 
several generations. He was born on March 
27, 1850, and is a lineal descendant of Rich- 
ard Lyman, who was born in High Ongar, 
England, and came to Massachusetts in 163 1, 
bringing with him three sons: Richard, Rob- 
ert, and John. The elder Richard became one 
of the original proprietors of Hartford, 
Conn., and died there in 1640. His son 
John, born in 1623, settled at Northampton, 
Mass., in 1654, and was the father of Ben- 
jamin and grandfather of Benjamin, Jr., who 
after marriage settled at Easthampton. Lem- 
uel Lyman, born in 1735, son of the second 
Benjamin and grandson of the first of that 
name, was a soldier in the French and Indian 
War. He was in the expedition, under Sir 
William Johnson, sent in 1755 against Crown 
Point, and in the battle on September 8, 
known as Dieskau's Defeat, was wounded, 
and would have been killed had not the shot- 
pouch which he wore received the bullet 
aimed at his heart, and thus saved his life. 
The bullet and pouch are cherished as valued 
relics in the Easthampton Museum. Ahira 
Lyman, son of Lemuel and grandfather of 
Robert W., of the present sketch, was born 
at Easthampton in 1770, and died in 1836. 
His wife, Sally Pomeroy, of Southampton, 
was the daughter of a soldier of the Revolu- 
tion, one who took part in the battle of 
Bunker Hill, on the 17th of June, 1775. 
Grandfather Lyman was an extensive land- 
owner, and had a saw-mill and a grist-mill on 
his farm, besides which he carried on a good 
business as a carriage manufacturer. He was 
industrious and thrifty, and at the time of his 




R. W. LYMAN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



161 



decease was one of the wealthiest men in his 
vicinity. Both he and his wife were members 
of the Congregational church. The grand- 
mother died in middle life, leaving four sons: 
Roland, Pynchon, Ahira, Jr., and Ouartus. 
The eldest son was a jeweller in Lowell, 
Mass. ; and Pynchon was a manufacturer of 
flour and lumber at Easthampton. After his 
first wife's death the grandfather married a 
Miss Baldwin, who bore him two sons, one of 
whom died at twenty-one; the other, Jabez 
B. Lyman, was for many years a practising 
physician at Rockford, 111., but died in Salem, 
Mass. The second wife died comparatively 
young; and the grandfather then married Mrs. 
Hannah (Judd) Lyman, widow of Azariah 
Lyman. 

Ahira Lyman, Jr., was born on the parental 
homestead in Easthampton in 1807, and died 
in 1888. He was a well-to-do farmer, and 
was also active in military circles, having 
been elected a Major in the State militia. In 
1839 he was married to Theresa Lyman, a 
daughter of his stepmother by a former hus- 
band; and they became the parents of six 
children, one of whom, Arthur, died at the 
age of twenty-one years. The others are: 
Fannie B., wife of William P. Derby, living 
in Springfield; Albert A., of Northampton; 
Richard, also of this city: Robert W. ; and 
William R., a commercial traveller, residing 
in Philadelphia, Pa. The father was previ- 
ously married, his first wife having been 
Prances Burt, who bore him three sons, of 
whom but one is living; namely, Gains Burt 
Lyman, of Easthampton. Their first-born, 
Harry, who was a volunteer in the war of 
the Rebellion, died of disease contracted in 
the army at Newbern, N.C., and was buried 
at Easthampton. Mrs. Theresa Lyman is 
still living, and makes her home in Spring- 
field. 



Robert W. Lyman was brought up on the 
farm, and assisted in its labors when not in 
school until seventeen years old. He was 
subsequently a student in the Massachusetts 
Agricultural College four years, being grad- 
uated from there in 1871. He inherited the 
military tastes of his ancestors, and was in the 
military department of the school four years, 
and after graduation was three years in the 
State militia, rising to the rank of First 
Lieutenant. Mr. Lyman began his active ca- 
reer as a civil engineer and a teacher. Com- 
mencing the study of law with Bond Brothers 
& Bottom, he was admitted to the bar in 
1878, and was graduated from the Boston 
University Law School the following year. 
He shortly began the practice of his profes- 
sion at Belchertown, Mass., remaining there 
very successfully engaged until January 1, 
1892, when he accepted his present responsi- 
ble position as Register of Deeds. His work 
in this department has been performed with 
great faithfulness and precision, and is duly 
appreciated. 

On June 8, 1892, Mr. Lyman was united in 
marriage with Mrs. Diantha A. Bridgeman, a 
daughter of Captain Roswell Allen and the 
widow of the late Lyman Bridgeman. By her 
former husband Mrs. Lyman has two sons: 
Malcolm L. Bridgeman, manager of the Met- 
ropolitan Bicycle Company in New York 
City; and Paul Bridgeman. After his elec- 
tion to the office of Register of Deeds, Mr. 
Lyman settled in his beautiful home at 1 1 
Linden Street, where he enjoys all the com- 
forts of a happy domestic life. Socially, he 
is a Knight Templar and a Past Master 
Mason. He is a Special Justice, being one 
of the three judges of the District Court of 
Hampshire. Politically, he is an adherent of 
the Republican party and an influential mem- 
ber of its ranks. 



\6z 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



TT^LARK B. WRIGHT, well known in 
I ]y Middlefield, Mass., as an enterprising 
V»~_^ and progressive farmer and stock- 
raiser, is a native of that town, where his 
birth took place on July 20, 1842, being a son 
of Nathan and Asenath (Cone) Wright. 

Nathan Wright, who was born in Chester, 
Mass., August 26, 1786, came with his par- 
ents to Middlefield about 1796, settling on 
the farm where Clark B. Wright now resides. 
He was brought up to farming, and continued 
to follow that occupation throughout his life 
on the old homestead. He died there on 
December 20, 1S75, after an honorable and 
successful career, aged eighty-nine years. 
His wife, who was born in Peru, Mass., July 
19, 1 79S, died September 2, 1879. The fruit 
of their union was eleven children, of whom 
two are now living, namely: Clark B. ; and 
Louisa, now Mrs. L. Smith. Their birth 
record is as follows: Nathan, born February 
27, 1 818; Amos, December 5, 18 19; Harri- 
ett A., December 12, 1821 ; Mary C, Sep- 
tember 20, 1823; Louisa, March 23, 1826; 
Emory, August 2, 1828; Charles, December 
8, 1830; Fidelia, December 30, 1832; Ma- 
tilda, December r, 1835; Olin, December 25, 
1839; and Clark B., July 20, 1842. In addi- 
tion to the educational advantages offered by 
the common schools of the town, the children 
enjoyed the privilege of attending the high 
school of the county. Both parents were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and were actively interested in the work of 
that body. In politics the father always sup- 
ported the Whig party. He filled several 
town offices most acceptably, and was popular 
with the people he met in his social and busi- 
ness relations. 

Clark B. Wright, the youngest child, re- 
mained with his parents until their death. 
He then took charge of the home farm, on 



which he has since resided. It is known as 
the Glendale Farm, and is situated about 
seven miles north of the village of Chester, 
in one of the best locations in the western 
part of the county. Besides his general farm- 
ing he raises such staple New England prod- 
ucts as corn and potatoes. He is also quite 
successful in stock-raising, his stock being 
chiefly thoroughbred short-horn cattle, Chester 
White hogs, with some horses. 

On March I, 1864, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Ann L. Prentice. She was 
born February 6, 1844, a daughter of Syl- 
vester and Louisa (Williams) Prentice, both 
of whom were lifelong residents of Massachu- 
setts. Her father was a prosperous and enter- 
prising agriculturist. Mrs. Wright died on 
October 8, 1893, at forty-nine years of age, 
leaving no children. 

Mr. Wright, though a stanch Republican, 
has no inclination for office. His home 
duties have required all his time and atten- 
tion. He is a member of the Baptist church 
of Middlefield, and so was his wife, who was 
a highly intelligent woman. Both were al- 
ways active and influential workers in the 
cause of Christianity. 




AMUEL W. LEE, Jr., whose por- 
trait accompanies the present 
sketch, is a member of the Nono- 
tuck Silk Company of Leeds, Mass., and a 
valued citizen of Northampton. He was born 
in Northampton, August 10, 1857, and is a 
son of Samuel W. Lee, Sr., who was born in 
Northampton Centre,- April 14, 1835. His 
grandfather, Samuel William Lee, was born 
in Connecticut, and lived for some time in 
Middletown, but subsequently removed to 
Northampton. He married Electa Bacon, 
who bore him five children, of whom Samuel 




SAMUEL W. LEE, Jr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



i6 c 



W. Lee, Sr., of Northampton, Llecta Lee, of 
Newfield, N.J., and Cornelia, the widow of 
the Rev. William Bates, arc now living. 

Samuel W., son of Samuel William and 
Electa (Bacon) Lee, married Hepzibah Sev- 
erance, a native of Heath, Mass. , who passed 
to the life eternal in November, 1891, leav- 
ing four children, namely: Samuel W., Jr.; 
Grace, who married John Robinson, and died 
in the prime of womanhood, leaving one son; 
Arthur, who is married, and is in business with 
his father; and Philip, who died when young. 

Samuel W. Lee, Jr., was educated in the 
district and high school of his native city, 
being well fitted for the responsibilities of 
life, and at the age of seventeen years began 
to be self-supporting. He first entered the 
insurance office of Peck & Pierce, remaining 
with them until 1878. Coming then to 
Leeds, Mr. Lee was employed as book-keeper 
for the Mill River Button Company three 
years: and in the spring of 1881 he accepted 
a similar position in the office of the Nono- 
tuck Silk Company, with which he has since 
been connected, this being the largest silk 
thread company in the world. 

On the 20th of April, 1881, Mr. Lee was 
united in marriage with Miss Emma L. Di- 
mock, a daughter of Lucius and Electa 
(Jones) Dimock. Mrs. Dimock died in 1884, 
leaving her husband and two daughters: 
Emma L., Mrs. Lee; and Kittie, the wife of 
George Wright Clarke. The union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Lee has been brightened by the 
birth of one child, Harold Dimock Lee, a 
promising boy of thirteen years. Mr. Lee 
resides with his father-in-law, who is the 
Managing Director of the Nonotuck Silk 
Company. 

In politics Mr. Lee is a strong Republican, 
and for two years served his fellow-townsmen 
as a member of the Common Council. He 



also represents this ward on the Northampton 
Board of Education, and has been Secretary 
of the Forbes Library since its organization, 
being a most responsible and trustworthy 
official. Socially, he is a Knight Templar, 
and for three years was Commander of the 
Northampton Commandery. Mr. Lee is 
greatly interested in music, having a decided 
talent for the art, which he has cultivated, 
and for several years was organist in the First 
Church, and afterward sang in the choirs of 
that and of the Unitarian church. 




ORACE HOLBROOK, the well- 
known dealer in meats and provi- 
sions at Northampton, residing at 
22S State Street, was born in Buckland, 
Franklin County, Mass., on April 5, 1844, 
son of Amasa C. and Lucretia (Clemens ) 
Holbrook. 

His paternal grandfather, Isaac Holbrook, 
was born in Vermont, and was a farmer in 
humble circumstances. He married a Miss 
Saunders, who was also a native of the Green 
Mountain State; and she bore him four sons 
and two daughters. With the exception of 
one daughter who went to Ohio during the 
early settlement of that State, where she died, 
leaving some property, all were married, and 
reared families of their own. Grandfather 
Holbrook also went to Ohio; but, being 
taken ill with consumption, he returned East, 
and died about 18 16. His widow died in 
Michigan in 1850 at a ripe old age. 

Amasa C. Holbrook, who was born in Cole- 
rain, Mass., in 18 12, married Miss Lucretia 
Clemens, of Charlemont , Mass.. a daughter 
of Joseph Clemens. The latter was a machin- 
ist, and followed his trade for a considerable 
part of his life. He worked in iron and steel. 
and had a shop of his own on his farm, where 



i66 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



he made dental tools and other implements; 
but he was also employed for a time in Green- 
field, Mass. His widow is now the wife of 
Harvey Churchill. She was born on Wash- 
ington's Birthday in i S 1 3, and, though now 
in her eighty-third year, has retained a clear 
mind, and enjoys a fair degree of health, not- 
withstanding injuries from a fall, which 
necessitate the use of crutches. She bore 
her husband two sons and three daughters, as 
follows: Elizabeth Thompson, a widow resid- 
ing at Shelburne Falls, Mass. ; Horace; 
George R., residing in Ontario, San Bernar- 
dino County, Cal.; Emily, who married Will- 
iam Hanks, of Ashfield, Mass., and died, 
leaving two children; and Mrs. Elvira A. 
Phillips, who died in Colerain, leaving two 
sons and a daughter. 

Horace Holbrook attended Arms Academy 
two terms after completing his studies at the 
district school, and at home was reared to 
farm work. At eighteen years of age, in 
September, 1862, he enlisted in Company E 
of the Fifty-second Massachusetts Regiment, 
with which he served about a year, being a 
nine months' man. For two or three years 
after his father's death he was in Illinois, but 
since 1868 has engaged in his present busi- 
ness in Western Massachusetts. He first 
established himself in Montague, remaining 
there for several years, and about 1879 came 
to Northampton, where he is carrying on a 
thriving trade. 

He was married on October 4, 1868, to 
Miss Maria R. Gloyd, of Plainficld, Mass., a 
daughter of Benjamin Gloyd, a Plainfield 
farmer. Mr. Gloyd died in 1876, at sixty- 
three years of age, leaving a widow and four 
children. Mrs. Gloyd died in 1884, also aged 
sixty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook 
have four children, namely: Charles H., who 
is married, and lives in Northampton; Louis 



George, who married Miss Rose B. Abell, 
and is employed by his father; Nelson D., 
who is married, and lives at Everett, Mass., 
and Fred Amasa, a youth of fifteen years, who 
is attending school. 

Mr. Holbrook is an adherent of the Repub- 
lican party, and has been a member of the 
W. T. Baker Post, No. 81, Grand Army of 
the Republic, ever since its organization. 
He is also a Chapter Mason. His present 
residence, which he purchased about eleven 
years ago, is on a large corner lot and a very 
desirable property. 




,ARSHALL C. SMITH, a pros- 
perous and progressive farmer of 
Chesterfield, was born in Chester, 
Hampden County, Mass., December 25, 1855, 
son of Amok C. and Sarah L. (Beldin) Smith, 
both of Chester. His father was born No- 
vember 23, 1 81 2, his mother November 24, 
1 8 19. In early life Amok Smith was a 
painter, and also was engaged in manufactur- 
ing paint. Later he took up farming as his 
occupation, making his home in Chester till 
1880, when he came to his son's farm, where 
he lived till the time of his death, June 18, 
1891. His wife now lives with her son, the 
subject of this sketch. They were the parents 
of seven children, namely: Henry H., a Con- 
gregational minister, who married Mary Sum- 
mers, and lives in Knightville, Mass.; Ellen 
W., wife of Robert A. Billings, of Provi- 
dence; Fitch G., who died March 8, 1847; 
Addie D., born April 4, 1849, who died 
March 15, 1861; Mary E., wife of Ptolemy 
Smith, of Worthington ; Marshall C; Jennie, 
born February 21, 1861, wife of A. E. Free- 
man, of South Worthington village. 

Marshall C. Smith received a good common- 
school education, attending school in Hamp- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



i 67 



shire and Hampden Counties. He worked 
with his father till 1879, when he took pos- 
session of the farm that he now owns, which 
originally consisted of one hundred and 
eighty-five acres, but has been enlarged by 
subsequent purchase till it now comprises 
three hundred acres. He has made many im- 
provements mi his place, and raises bountiful 
crops of corn, potatoes, and hay, besides large 
quantities of fruit, a patent evaporator for 
preparing the latter commodity for market 
being prominent among his agricultural ma- 
chines and appliances. 

On December 25, 1875, Mr. Smith was 
united in marriage with Lizzie E., daughter 
of Samuel and Mary Beldin, who was born 
July 19, 1853, in Chester. Mrs. Lizzie E. 
Smith died about a year after marriage; and 
on September 29, 1886, Mr. Smith took to his 
home a second wife, Gertrude J. Knight, a 
daughter of O. E. and Anna M. (Smith) 
Knight, who was born in Norwich, Mass., 
May 23, 1S6S. Her parents are both living, 
her father being the present Postmaster in 
Norwich. Two children have their home with 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely: Charles Pome- 
roy, who came to them when six years of age; 
and his sister, Hattie A. Pomeroy. 

Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican. His 
wife is a member of the Congregational 
church at Huntington. They have a very 
pleasant home, the house, which is a hundred 
years old, being built with spacious rooms in 
the generous and substantial fashion of last 
century. 

« »»■» 

IRA DANIEL JONES, an extensive 
farmer of Worth ington and a veteran of 
the Civil War, was born in Becket, 
Mass., March 13, 1842, son of Riley and 
Nancy (Snow) Jones. His father was a na- 
tive of Becket, and was reared to agricultural 



pursuits. He was a teamster in early man- 
hood, but relinquished that occupation for the 
trade of a stone mason, which he followed 
through life in connection with farming. 
He was a Republican in politics and a highly 
esteemed citizen. Riley Jones died in the 
spring of 1892. 

His wife, who was a native of Becket, be- 
came the mother of twelve children, as fol- 
lows: George, who married Percy Oliver, and 
resides in Springfield, Mass. ; Ira D., the 
subject of this sketch; Mary (deceased), who 
married Windsor Woodard ; Washington (de- 
ceased), who married Adelia Prentice; War- 
ren, who married Anna Mackey, and is also 
deceased; Hattie (deceased); Henry, who 
married Augusta Allen, and resides in Worth- 
ington; Etta, widow of Philip Bosquet, who 
resides in Becket; Frank, who married Ella 
Burrows, and resides in Cummington, Mass. : 
Laura, who died young; and two others who 
died in infancy. The mother died many years 
ago. 

Ira D. Jones resided with his parents until 
reaching the age of seventeen, when he en- 
gaged in farming, and was thereafter em- 
ployed by the month for several years. For a 
year previous to 1862 he worked in New Hart- 
ford, Conn. ; and in September of that year he 
enlisted as a private in Company F, Nine- 
teenth Connecticut Infantry, from which he 
was transferred to the Second Connecticut 
Heavy Artillery. He was present at the bat- 
tle of Cold Harbor, and took part in several 
minor engagements, receiving in his left arm 
at the battle of Winchester a gunshot wound, 
which necessitated his confinement in the 
hospital. After remaining in Frederick City 
for a short time, he was taken to the military 
hospital in New Haven, Conn., where he- 
stayed for two months, and was discharged 
June 4, 1865. He returned to New Hartford, 






BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



where he was employed as a teamster for 
several months; and after that he and his 
brother George rented a farm in Becket, which 
they conducted in connection with lumbering 
until April, 1869, when they divided their in- 
terests. Mr. Jones then came to Worthing- 
ton, and bought a farm. He has since added 
to his original acreage until he now possesses 
six hundred and fifty-five acres of land, and is 
one of the largest farmers in this region. He 
conducts an extensive dairy, keeps a large 
number of cattle and horses, and has made 
agriculture a success. 

On March 9, 1868, Mr. Jones was united in 
marriage to Sophronia Tucker, who was born 
in New Hartford, Conn., June 20, 1842, 
daughter of Nelson and Maria (Rust) Tucker. 
Mrs. Jones's parents died in New Hartford. 
Her father was a prosperous farmer. Mr. 
and Mrs. Jones have one son, named Edward 
Wesley, who was born December 12, 1870. 
He married Julia Griffin, resides in Worth- 
ington, and is in partnership with his father. 
In politics Mr. Jones has always supported the 
Republican party. 



Tt^ANSO 

JPOr 



,ANSOM COWLS, one of North Am- 
herst's prosperous farmers, was born 
Amherst, August 18, 181 8, son 
of Jonathan and Esther (Graves) Cowls. Mr. 
Cowls's ancestors came originally from Con- 
necticut to Hatfield, Mass.; and his grand- 
parents, David and Sarah (Eastman) Cowls, 
were natives of that town. David Cowls was 
born August 11, 1741 . He moved from Hat- 
field to Amherst, where he was an early set- 
tler, and cleared the farm which is now 
owned bv Walter Cowls. He was an indus- 
trious and an upright man. David Cowls died 
in Amherst, November 18, 18 17. His wife, 
Sarah Eastman before marriage, who was 



born January 28, 1744, daughter of John East- 
man, of Hatfield, became the mother of five 
children: David, Sally, Joseph, Silas, and 
Jonathan. She died August 14, 1815. 

Jonathan Cowls, father of Mr. Cowls, was 
born in North Amherst, December 2, 1781. 
He succeeded to the ownership of the home 
farm, and bought other real estate. He be- 
came a very prosperous farmer, and owned 
some three hundred acres of land. He was a 
man of sound judgment in all business mat- 
ters, and was active in public affairs, having 
been chairman of the Board of Selectmen for 
some time. Jonathan Cowls died January 18, 
1866. He was a zealous member of the Con- 
gregational church. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Esther Graves, was born in Sunder- 
land, November 23, 1783, and became the 
mother of eight children, as follows: Justin, 
Erastus, Louis, Ira, and Esther, all deceased; 
Sarah, wife of George Bridgman, a resident 
of Michigan; Jonathan, Jr., a prosperous 
farmer of North Amherst ; and Ransom, the 
subject of this sketch. She died June 20, 
1868. 

Ransom Cowls was reared to agricultural 
life, and has always followed farming as an 
occupation. He resides upon a part of the 
original farm of David Cowls, his property 
consisting of one hundred and twenty-five 
acres. In his time he worked laboriously: 
but he has now retired from active occupation, 
leaving his sons to manage the farm. He is a 
Republican in politics. 

On August 24, 1843, Mr. Cowls was united 
in marriage to Sarah B. Gunn. She was born 
in Sunderland, August 3, 1821, daughter of 
Stephen and Sarah (Baker) Gunn, both now 
deceased, who were old residents of North 
Sunderland, where Stephen Gunn was a 
farmer. Mrs. Cowls was the mother of the 
following children: Stephen G., who died 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



169 



March 4, 1894; Francis J., who married 
Sarah Wormwood, and died August I, 1881, 
leaving two children, Esther and Sarah; Es- 
ther T.. who married Frank M. Cushman, of 
Northampton, and has two children, Esther 
C. and Clara M. ; Albert R., who resides at 
home; and Mellie A., an organ manufacturer 
of Detroit, Mich., who married Clara Nichols, 
and has a son, Emerson R. Mrs. Cowls died 
May 14, 1894. She was a member of the 
Congregational church. Mr. Cowls has been 
a member of the same society for fifty years, 
has been its treasurer, and is the superintend- 
ent of the Sabbath-school. 



% AR < 



ARON and LAFAYETTE STE 
r ENS, the well-known millers ami 
manufacturers of Worthington, are 

natives of this town. Aaron was born Febru- 
ary 5, 1 8 16 ; and Lafayette was born Novem- 
ber 30, 1824, both being sons of Aaron Ste- 
vens, Sr. 

Their father was born in Brookfield, Mass., 
August 19, 1786. In 181 1 he settled in 
Worthington, where he purchased a farm of 
seventy-five acres, upon which his son Lafay- 
ette now resides. He also engaged in operat- 
ing a saw and grist mill, which was at that 
time the only establishment of its kind in the 
neighborhood; and he conducted it with suc- 
cess until 1837, when it was destroyed by fire. 
He soon built another mill, and in 1840 
erected a larger one, both of which were 
burned a few years later. Aaron Stevens, 
Sr., died July 2, 1859. On December 5, 
181 1, he married Sarah Spelman, who was 
born in Sandisfield, Mass., October 3, 1783, 
and died December 15, 1859. They were the 
parents of seven children, as follows: Nathan 
S., John M., Aaron, Jr., Corril B., Sarah R., 
Catherine M., and Lafayette. 



Aaron Stevens, Jr., assisted his father in 
carrying on the two saw-mills; and after their 
destruction he, in company with his brother 
Nathan, erected another mill, and operated it 
for some time. He then purchased his part- 
ner's interest, and successfully conducted the 
enterprise for thirty-seven years. In 1804 
that mill was also burned, and he at once 
started to rebuild. He is at present eng 
in running a saw-mill and manufacturing 
hoop>. 

On March 17. 1S42, Aaron Stevens, Jr., 
was united in marriage to Sophia P. Stone. 
She was born in Chester, Mass., April 23, 
1 8 16, daughter of Harvey Stone, a farmer. 
Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are the parents of three 
children, as follows: Anson F., who was born 
January 8, 1843, married Fidelia Cole, and 
resides in Rockford, 111., where he follows 
the occupation of a merchant; Eugene Henry, 
born January 23, 1852, who married Alida 
Graves, and is engaged in business with his 
father in the mill; and Cullen Leroy, born 
January 26, 1854, who also is in company with 
his father, under the firm name of A. Stevens 
& Sons. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have also an 
adopted child, Henrietta J. Cole, who was 
born February 14, 1858, daughter of Henry 
and Augusta V. (Packard) Cole. Mr. Aaron 
Stevens is a Republican in politics, and has 
served as a Selectman. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens 
are members of the Congregational church, of 
which he is Deacon. 

Lafayette Stevens resided at home, and as- 
sisted his father in carrying on the farm. In 
the spring of 1858 he erected a grist-mill, 
which he operates with good results; and later 
he engaged in the manufacturing of embroid- 
ery hoops, which he ships to different parts of 
the country. He is a Republican in politics. 

Lafayette Stevens was married on Septem- 
ber 10, 1846, to Laura S. Packard. She was 



'7° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



born in Cummington, Mass., November 9, 
1825, daughter of William and Sarah (Stod- 
dard) Packard, natives of Massachusetts, the 
former of whom was born October 25, 1 791 . 
William Packard was a well-known and highly 
esteemed man, who was a surveyor for more 
than fifty years, also a Justice of the Peace, 
and was Treasurer of Cummington for thirty- 
nine years. He died November 2, 1870; and 
his wife died March 1, 1873. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lafayette Stevens have had 
six children, namely: Julia S., who was born 
July 3, 1847, married Darwin E. Lyman, of 
Cummington, and has two children — Eugene 
William and Laura A.; Ella A., who was 
born April 28, 1850, and died aged four 
years; William A., who was born October 11, 
1S52, for his first wife married Alice Daniels, 
and for his second Marie T. Young, and re- 
sides in Buffalo, N.Y., where he is employed 
as a travelling salesman; Alfred C, who was 
born May 31, 1856, married Edith M. Tower, 
and has two children — Walter Leroy and 
Clara Louisa; Lester F., born May 1, 1859, 
who married Harriet Read, and resides near 
Boston, employed as a travelling salesman; 
and Flora Belle, who was born December 25, 
1863, and resides at home. Mr. and Mrs. 
Stevens are members of the Congregational 
church, of which Mr. Stevens is a Deacon. 



DMUND HOBART, whose portrait is 
here given, is one of the leading citi- 
zens of North Amherst, where for 
years he has been engaged in farming and 
lumbering. He was born in Leverett, Mass., 
May 7, 1822. His parents were Joshua and 
Sybil (Woodbury) Hobart, the former a native 
of Taunton, the latter of Leverett. The fam- 
ily is of English origin, the first of the name 
in this country being Edmund Hobart, who 



came to America in 1633, landing at Charles- 
town, and who settled in Hingham, which was 
then called Bare Cove, in 1635. That town 
was the home of many succeeding generations 
of Hobarts, and the family is still represented 
there. Notable among the early Hobarts of 
Hingham, Mass., were two sons of the first 
Edmund, namely: the Rev. Peter Hobart, 
who was educated in Cambridge, England, 
came to Massachusetts with wife and four 
children in 1635, and was pastor of the church 
in Hingham nearly forty years; and Captain 
Joshua Hobart, an officer in King Philip's 
War, a member of the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery Company, and a very prominent man 
in public affairs, being a Deputy to the Gen- 
eral Court for twenty-four years. Joshua Ho- 
bart of a later day, the grandfather of Mr. 
Hobart of North Amherst, above named, was 
born in Hingham, Mass. He was a cooper 
by trade, being an industrious and thrifty 
man, who worked at farming in the growing 
season and at cooperage in the winter. He 
was one of the pioneers of Leverett, establish- 
ing a home, where he spent the remainder of 
his life. Grandfather Hobart was a member 
of the patriotic militia. He lived to be about 
eighty years of age. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Sarah Goddard, attained the age of 
ninety. They reared eight children — four 
sons and four daughters — -the second child 
and eldest son bearing the name Joshua. 

The early part of the life of Joshua Hobart, 
Jr., was spent in Leverett, he being nearly 
forty years of age when he moved to North 
Amherst and purchased land, some of which 
is still owned by the family. He was an in- 
dustrious and successful farmer. He died at 
the homestead in North Amherst in his eigh- 
tieth year. Mrs. Sybil W. Hobart also was 
nearly eighty at the time of her death. In 
politics Joshua Hobart, the younger, was a 




EDMUND HOBART. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'73 



Whig, and later a Free Soiler. In religious 
belief he and his wife were Congregationalisrs. 
They reared ten children, who were all pres- 
ent at the fiftieth anniversary of their mar- 
riage. Of these children four are now dead: 
George W., J. Woodbury, Stillman, and 
Mary. Fanny, who is the widow of Sylvester 
Roberts, lives in North Amherst. Sarah A., 
who is unmarried, resides at Clarendon Hills, 
111. Eliza H. is the wife of the Rev. Will- 
iam E. Dickinson, of Amherst. Isabella is 
the wife of Dr. Homer Ducep, of Philadel- 
phia. Ellen is the wife of Daniel Dickinson, 
of Clarendon Hills, 111. Edmund, of North 
Amherst, is the only son living. 

Edmund Ilobart was seven years of age 
when his parents removed to this place. He 
attended the district school in the neighbor- 
hood, acquiring a fair education, at the same 
time, under the paternal direction, gradually 
becoming familiar with practical farming, 
ami, when he attained his majority, left home 
in pursuit of a livelihood. Purchasing a farm 
of fifty acres, he made a small payment only, 
and at once set to work to clear the debt, his 
toilsome and well-directed labor bringing 
most profitable results. He has now for many 
years been engaged in farming ami lumbering, 
and is one of the well-to-do men in North 
Amherst. He lived for some time on the old 
Hobart homestead; but thirty years ago he 
disposed of that property, and moved to his 
present place, where he has a very handsome 
residence. 

Mr. Hobart's first wife, to whom he was 
united on February 21, 1844, was Esther P. 
Montague, a native of Sunderland, born Feb- 
ruary 7, 1824. Her parents were Moses and 
Polly (Pomeroy) Montague, the former a na- 
tive of Sunderland, the latter of Williams- 
burg. Mrs. Esther P. Hobart died October 
21, 1851, leaving one son, Moses M., who 



was born March 26, 1841'), and is now a well- 
known lawyer of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Ho- 
bart's second marriage took place October 28, 
1852, his bride being Harriet Adams, a native 
of Shutesbury, born November 28, 1822. 
Two sons were the fruit of this union, namely: 
Henry W., born July 31, 1S55, who died De- 
cember 23, 1858; and Frank Adams, born 
November 22, 1866, who resides with his par- 
ents. 

In politics Mr. Hobart is independent, fa- 
voring Republican principles; and he is a 
strong Prohibitionist. He takes an active 
interest in the public weal, and has served as 
Selectman for several terms and as Assessor 
for some years. He and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Congregational church in North 
Amherst, in which he has officiated as Deacon 
for the past thirty years. Deacon Hobart is 
one of the oldest and most respected residents 
of North Amherst to-day; and his life career 
exemplifies the power of accomplishment in 
the union of industry, perseverance, and in- 
tegrity. 

«^# — » 

(c^rHLAS R. COOLEY, a dealer in leaf 
T//^> tobacco, one of the most esteemed 
s^-^S young business men of Northamp- 
ton, Mass., was born in North Haclley, Janu- 
ary 26, 1858, being the descendant of a well- 
known family of that town. 

The paternal grandfather of the subject of 
this brief sketch was Charles Cooley, who was 
a lifelong resilient of Sunderland, owning and 
managing a good farm in that part of the town 
called Plumtrees. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Mary Stowell, was limn in Peters- 
ham, Worcester County. Their household 
circle was enlarged by the birth of eleven 
children — six sons and five daughters- ol 
whom five sons and three daughters grew to 
adult life, and three are now living, namely: 



'74 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Edwin A., a retired farmer of Galesburg, 
111.; Clarissa C, wife of Benedict B. Will- 
iams, of Dexter, Mich. ; and George L., who 
owns and occupies the old homestead at Plum- 
trees, he having been a soldier in the Civil 
War, belonging to Company F, Thirty- 
seventh Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. 
One daughter, Eliza A., burn June 14, 1815, 
married Cornelius Hilliard, and lived with him 
more than fifty years, the golden anniversary 
of their wedding day being celebrated on June 
28, 1 888. She died in Northfield in 1892. 

Simon F. Cooley, son of Charles, was born 
in Sunderland, Franklin County, October 28, 
1817, and died April 12, 1879, m North 
Hadley. He was one of the prosperous mer- 
chants of Western Massachusetts, for eight 
years carrying on a large grocery trade in 
Springfield, and from 1852 until 1879 en- 
gaged in general merchandising in North Had- 
ley. He was a typical representative of the 
bright and enterprising self-made men of 
Massachusetts, he having started in life with- 
out cash capital, and by diligent effort, thrift, 
and good management acquired a competency, 
leaving an estate valued at twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars. He was influential in public 
life, a Republican in politics, serving as Se- 
lectman several terms, and as Postmaster for 
twenty years. He married Esther E. Rose, 
who was born in Granville, Hampden County, 
but was reared in Springfield, where their 
union was solemnized October 27, 1847. 
Their three children were: Ella Rose, Addi- 
son G. , and Silas R. Ella Rose died at the 
tender age of two and one-half years; and 
Addison G. died May 23, 1862, in North 
Hadley, aged eight years. 

Silas R. Cooley received excellent educa- 
tional advantages in the days of his youth, at- 
tending Hopkins Academy two years, after- 
ward pursuing his studies a year at the New 



Salem Academy, going from there to the Ag- 
ricultural College at Amherst, which, how- 
ever, he was obliged to leave after a year of 
diligent study on account of trouble with his 
eyes. He was then engaged for a year as a 
clerk in his father's store, being subsequently 
employed for a similar period in the locomo- 
tive works at Providence, R.I. In 1881, 
having then concluded the settlement of his 
father's estate, Mr. Cooley moved to North- 
ampton, bought his present property, consist- 
ing of one acre of land, at 36 High Street, 
where, besides his modest but pleasant resi- 
dence, he has an office and storehouse, and es- 
tablished his present profitable business. He 
packs and deals in leaf tobacco, having a very 
extensive trade, and conducting it most suc- 
cessfully. 

On October 5, 1881, Mr. Cooley was united 
in marriage with Sarah L. Wright, a daughter 
of George L. and Elizabeth A. CCobb) 
Wright, her father being a thriving farmer of 
this town and among its most respected citi- 
zens. Both parents are faithful members of 
the First Congregational Church, of which 
Mr. Wright has been a Deacon for many 
years. Mrs. Cooley, after her graduation 
from the Northampton High School and prior 
to her marriage, was one of the popular and 
successful teachers of this city. Three chil- 
dren have come to bless the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Cooley, namely: Clara Louise, born 
June 11, 18S3; Arthur Rose, born May 4, 
1888; and Alice Wright, born September 2, 
1890. Exemplary in all the walks of life, a 
devoted husband and father, in society courte- 
ous and genial, in business upright and honor- 
able, Mr. Cooley is deservedly held in high 
esteem. Politically, he is an earnest Repub- 
lican, and has served with credit to himself 
and to the satisfaction of his constituents as 
Councilman and Alderman. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'75 




LONZO C. WARNER, a highly re- 
spected native-born citizen of Granby, 
Mass., whose birth date was May 5, 
182S, has been intimately associated with the 
agricultural interests of the town for many 
years, having begun when a boy to assist his 
father in clearing and improving the land 
which he now owns. He is at present, how- 
ever, practically retired from business. He 
is the descendant of a family of stability and 
worth, being a son of Alonzo and Anna (Cut- 
ler ) Warner, the latter of whom was born in 
West Brookfield, Mass. Alonzo Warner, who 
was a tiller of the soil, was a lifelong resident 
of Granby and a most useful and influential 
member of the community, being often elected 
to office, and serving in various important po- 
sitions. He rounded a full period of life, 
dying in 1884. Seven children were born into 
his household, as follows: Alonzo C. ; Mary 
.Ann, who lived but a brief time; Stephen 
M., a general merchant at Centralia, 111.; 
Mary Ann, the second to bear that name, re- 
siding in Springfield; Susan E., the wife of 
J. H. Barton, of Springfield; Pamelia B., 
who passed away at the age of twenty-five 
years; and Elmina, who died in childhood. 

The record of the life of Alonzo C. Warner 
begins when he was a pupil in the district 
school, which he left when comparatively 
young to assist in the farm work at home. 
The property has been under his direct man- 
agement for twoscore years, during which time 
he has intelligently and skilfully carried on 
general farming, and with exceedingly profit- 
able results, each year adding materially to 
his wealth. 

The union of Mr. Warner with Margaret S. 
Towne was solemnized December 27, 1870. 
Mrs. Warner was born at Belchertown, Mass., 
October 7, 1840, being a daughter of Israel 
and Hannah (Stacy) Towne, of that place. 



Of their marriage three children have been 
born, namely: Arthur Towne; Walter 
Stephen, who died at the age of seventeen 
years; and Anna Cutler. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Warner are consistent members ot the Con- 
gregational church. 

In politics Mr. Warner is a steadfast Re- 
publican, and has served his fellow-townsmen 
in various minor offices of the town and 
county. With the exception of trips through 
the western part of our country, Mr. Warner 
has spent his years in the town in which he 
was reared, finding no place so congenial to 
his tastes, although he travelled extensively 
through Illinois, visiting Chicago, also To- 
ledo, Ohio, and other large Western cities. 
In 1895 Mr. and Mrs. Warner made their 
latest trip to the West, returning in the month 
of April. Since then Mr. Warner's health 
has not been good, the journey not proving as 
helpful as had been wished : and he has been 
obliged to give up all active labor. 



T^TJWARD PAYSON COPELAND, dealer 
f^l in fancy goods and notions at 104 Main 
""' Street, Northampton, was born Au- 
gust 1, 1 83 1 , in Hartford, Conn., son of Mel- 
vin Copeland, who was born in Sturbridge, 
Mass., March 12, 1797. 

Lawrence Copeland, the progenitor of the 
family in America, a native of England, 
born, it is said, in the reign of Queen Eliza- 
beth, crossed the Atlantic with Governor 
Winthrop or shortly after he came, and was 
identified with the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
until his death, at a very advanced age, De- 
cember 30, 1699. A record of his family and 
of several of their descendants is given in 
Mitchell's History of Bridgewater. Law- 
rence Copeland was married October 12, 
165 1, by the Rev. Mr. Hibbens, of Boston, to 



i 7 6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Lydia Townsend. They lived in Braintree, 
and had nine children. William Copeland, 
the third son of Lawrence and Lydia, married 
April 13, 1694, Mary, the widow of Christo- 
pher Webb and daughter of John and Ruth 
Alden Bass, a grand-daughter, it is interesting 
to know, of John Alden. Their son, Jonathan 
Copeland, married Betty Snell, and settled in 
West Bridgewater. He spent ninety years on 
earth; and one of his sons, Jonathan, Jr., 
lived to the age of ninety-two years. Daniel, 
the fourth son of Jonathan and Betty Copeland 
and great-grandfather of the gentleman of 
whom we write, married Susanna Ames; and 
both passed their remaining years in Bridge- 
water, he dying in 1827, aged eighty-six 
years, and she in 1834, at the age of ninety- 
one years. They were the parents of eleven 
children, the difference between the ages of 
the eldest and the youngest being thirty years. 
Daniel Copeland, Jr., son of Daniel and 
Susanna, was married April 28, 1791, to Abi- 
gail Shaw, a daughter of Gideon Shaw, of 
Raynham. His first wife dying March 26, 
1810, leaving six children, in 1813 he again 
married, and by his second wife had two sons. 
He departed this life in Huntington, whither 
he had removed from Sturbridge, Mass., 
March 15, 1850, aged eighty-three years. 

Melvin Copeland was the third child and 
second son born to his parents. He turned 
his attention to mechanical pursuits, becom- 
ing a plane-maker, following that trade in 
Hartford for twenty-five years. He then re- 
moved with his family to Hampshire County, 
locating in what is now Huntington, then 
known as Chester Village, in October, 1842. 
His wife, Lucinda Blake, whom he wedded 
October 13, 1824, was a daughter of Nathan- 
iel Blake, and was born in Hartford, Conn. 
Ten children were born to them, the sons and 
daughters being equally divided. The par- 



ents journeyed together as man and wife for 
forty-six years, and in death were not long 
separated, the father closing his eyes to 
earthly scenes March 5, 1866, aged sixty-nine 
years, and the widowed mother following him 
a month later, dying April 6, 1866, aged 
sixty-eight years. He was a man of unusual 
intelligence and progressiveness, alive to the 
pressing questions of his day, an ardent sup- 
porter of the antislavery cause and of temper- 
ance. In politics a' Whig and afterward a 
Republican, he took an active part in the 
important campaigns, being a ready and forci- 
ble speaker. His son well remembers seeing 
him, with his coat off, astride a log, helping 
to build a log cabin during the Presidential 
campaign of 1840, and being, probably, one 
of the loudest shouters of the stirring refrain, 

" Tippecanoe, and Tyler too, 
And with them we'll beat little Van." 

He was very much interested in the family 
history, and shortly before his death visited 
Boston, Ouincy, Braintree, and Bridgewater, 
consulting Savage's Genealogical Dictionary, 
Winthrop's Journal, Thayer's Genealogy, and 
Mitchell's History of Bridgewater, and, better 
still, interviewing a surviving aunt and uncle, 
Chloe and Daniel Copeland, a son and daugh- 
ter of Daniel Copeland, Sr., she in her sev- 
enty-eighth year and her brother four years 
younger, both living on the old homestead 
established by their father one hundred years 
before that time. 

In the manuscript left by Mr. Melvin Cope- 
land the family traits are thus given: "Physi- 
cally, medium height, well proportioned, com- 
pact, and muscular; capable of much hard 
service and endurance. Complexion, light 
and ruddy, with a sandy tendency, and blue 
eyes; not corpulent, and somewhat distin- 
guished for longevity and for rearing large 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



families. Intellectual and studious; demon- 
strative and investigating; cautious and criti- 
cal, with inventive genius. Morally, strictly 
honest, with stern integrity, proving faithful 
tti trusts, and law-abiding. Religiously, free 
(rum fanaticism and formality, but scriptural 
in belief, and uniformly cheerful and unob- 
trusive. Self-reliant, industrious, and frugal, 
but hospitable and generous, striving to be 
useful in public and private life. Character- 
istics like these, when strongly developed on 
the male side, will show themselves for many 
generations, and will occasionally stand out 
in individual cases almost as strong as in the 
original ; and the man who by temperate 
habits and a well-regulated life transmits to 
his posterity good health and a strong consti- 
tution, with the above characteristics, leaves 
them the best possible inheritance." 

Edward Payson Copeland, having attended 
the public schools until fourteen years of age, 
studied at a select school for three months, 
and then began working with his father in the 
manufacture of planes, at length being ad- 
mitted to partnership, and continuing with 
him until 1S61. He is now conducting a 
well-established, lucrative business in North- 
ampton, and owns and occupies a pleasant 
home at 85 New South Street, where he has 
resided since 1893. Inheriting to a large ex- 
tent the personal characteristics above men- 
tioned, he has proved a valued citizen, and 
has the respect of the entire community. 
He is a Republican in politics, but has not 
been an aspirant to public office. 

Mr. Copeland was married June 2, 1853, to 
Marietta Cowles, their nuptials being cele- 
brated in Amherst, at the home of the bride's 
parents, Moses and Chloe Cowles. Two chil- 
dren have been born of their union: Harriet 
and Lucien B. Harriet is the wife of A. H. 
Stocker, of this city. Lucien, who was grad- 



uated from Amherst College in the class of 
1 886, is now an attorney-at-law in Omaha, 
Neb. He married Annie Herrick, of North- 
ampton; and they have one daughter, Doro- 
thy, now two years old. 




ORDYCE BATES, a successful 
farmer of Worthington, was born in 
this town, February 25, 1823, son of 
Ouincy and Lovica ( ECnapp) Bates. Mr. 
Bates's paternal grandparents were residents 
of Weymouth, Mass. Quincy Bates was born 
in Cummington, Mass., March 17, 1 79 1 ; but, 
having grown to manhood, he settled upon 
a farm in Worthington, where he became a 
prosperous and well-known farmer. He died 
in October, 1875. His wife was born in 
Cummington, April 19, 1790, daughter of 
Jonathan Knapp, and she became the mother 
of ten children, namely: Shepard F., who 
died in Cummington in 1842; Herman L., 
who is now engaged in agricultural pursuits 
in Peru, Mass.; Emily L., widow of Talmage 
Church, a former manufacturer of Middlefield; 
Marcus A., now deceased; Mary L., who died 
October 3, 1838; Fordyce and Gordyce, 
twins; Laura T., who married Jabez Hazzard, 
a druggist of New York City, and is now de- 
ceased: Jonathan L., who died October 13, 
1838; and Austin, who died on the passage 
to California, at the age of eighteen. The 
mother died January 1, 1839. 

Gordyce Bates resided with his parents 
until he reached the age of seventeen, when 
he commenced to learn the trade of a carpen- 
ter and joiner. He worked at that trade as a 
journeyman for five years, and then, in com- 
pany with his brother Marcus, erected a saw- 
mill in the vicinity of the old homestead, in 
which they manufactured fork, rake, broom, 
and shovel handles, besides sawing lumber for 



'78 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



other parties. They conducted a successful 
business until some time in 1866, when the 
mill was burned. In 1843 Mr. Bates pur- 
chased the old home farm, which originally 
(..insisted of forty acres; and he has increased 
his property to one hundred and sixty-five 
acres. He carries on general farming, and 
makes a specialty of raising beef and vege- 
tables for the market. Mr. Bates is a Repub- 
lican in politics, and has always taken an ac- 
tive interest in local political issues. He 
was for five years a member of the Board of 
Selectmen, and served one year as Collector. 

On April 29, 1846, Mr. Bates married for 
his first wife Corinth Wing, a native of Hins- 
dale, Mass. She was born November 27, 
1824, daughter of Zeri and Triphenia (Ing- 
ham) Wing, the former of whom was a prac- 
tising physician. Four children were born of 
this union, namely: Emma L., who married 
Andrew Brewster, of Cummington; Clarence 
E., who married Ida Hancock, and resides in 
Huntington, Mass.; Shepard F., who died in 
infancy; and Shepard F., second, who mar- 
ried Nellie A. Tower, and resides in Worth- 
ington. The mother died July 21, 1894; and 
on June 5, 1895, Mr. Bates wedded for his 
second wife Mrs. Malina Graves, a sister of 
his first wife. Mrs. Malina Bates was born 
March 26, 1823, and has been three times 
married. By her first husband, Sherman 
Geer, she had one son, Elwin W. Geer, who 
married, and resides in Dalton, Mass. Her 
second husband was Amasa Graves, Jr., of 
Middlefield, by whom she had one son, Ar- 
thur W. Graves, who is married, and resides 
in l'ittsfield, Mass. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bates are members of the 
Congregational church. Fordyce Bates, Mr. 
Bates's twin brother, went to California in 
1849, an d remained there for several years, 
during which he was successful both as a 



merchant and a miner. While there he 
served as a member of the legislature in i860. 
Marcus A. Bates was a member of the legis- 
lature in 1880. 



SEMUEL BATES FIELD, who has 
been superintendent of lumber and 
_ **- construction for the Nonotuck Silk 
Company of Leeds for the past thirty years, is 
recognized as a man of unusual business acu- 
men and a most worthy and valued citizen. 
He is a native of Franklin County, having 
been born July 28, 1832, in the town of 
Whately, in the same house, on the old Field 
homestead, where his father, John Field, was 
born, October 10, 1792. 

Zenas Field, the father of John Field, was 
born August 10, 1753, and on March 12, 
1778, married Sarah Burroughs. She died 
September 10, 1810; and the following year 
he was again married, but of this union there 
were no children. The children borne to 
Zenas Field by his first wife were as follows: 
Lydia; Orange; John; Lydia, second; Or- 
ange, second; John, second; Sarah; Zenas; 
and Esther B., the wife of John Bridgman, 
who was an uncle of Sydney Bridgman. 

John Field was a lifelong farmer, working- 
hard on his hilly land, and improving a good 
property. He married Abigail Warner, a 
daughter of Paul Warner, of Williamsburg; 
and they became the parents of eight children. 
The following grew to mature years: Cly- 
menia, who was the wife of Cornelius Pome- 
roy, of Southampton; Paul W., who is still 
living on the old homestead; Lemuel Bates; 
and John Wright Field, who was a volunteer 
soldier in the Union army, belonging to Com- 
pany F, Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Volun- 
teer Infantry, and lost his life at the battle of 
the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, being Sergeant 









A 




\ 




LEMUEL B. FIELD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of his company, and dying with the regi- 
ment's colors in his hands. He left a wife 
and one daughter, the latter being now the 
wife of Clifford Haynes, of Springfield. 
Mrs. Pomeroy, the eldest daughter, departed 
this life in 1854, aged thirty-six years, and 
leaving two children. 

Lemuel 15. Field attended school' regularly 
until nine years of age. his schooling the next 
eight years being limited to three months dur- 
ing the winter season. Not being satisfied to 
earn his living by delving in the rocky soil, 
he decided upon a mechanical trade, and ac- 
cordingly entered the employment of a Mr. 
Graves in Whately, serving as an apprentice 
until attaining his majority, and then remain- 
ing with him six months more. By the terms 
of the apprenticeship he was to receive forty 
dollars per year, and after that the agreement 
was for one dollar per day; but this sum was 
withheld, the dishonest employer leaving the 
town without paying his debts. Mr. Field 
next worked for four years with Harvey 
Moore, a millwright in Whately, going 
thence to Allegan, Mich., where he was en- 
gaged in carpentering when the panic of 1857 
occurred, putting an end to all building oper- 
ations. From that time until 1863 he was 
engaged, in company with the Densmores, as 
a carpenter and millwright in Hatfield, Mass. 
In 1S64 Mr. Field came to Leeds, locating 
herein the month of March; and since that 
time he has been the faithful and trusted em- 
ployee of the Nonotuck Silk Company. He- 
has been very industrious and thrifty, invest- 
ing his surplus money judiciously, and has 
accumulated a goodly estate, being the owner 
of four tenement-houses here besides his resi- 
dence property, containing three acres of land, 
which he purchased in 1879, and on which he 
has since erected his present fine dwelling. 

Mr. Field was first married on June 14, 



1855, to Harriet Lilly, a daughter of Chip- 
man Lilly, of Ashfield. She died in Leeds. 
September 20, 1868, leaving one child, Mis. 
Lilly Isabelle Clark, who has one son, Daniel 
L. Clark, a student in the high school. On 
September 2, 1S69, Mr. Field was united in 
wedlock with Augusta Jane Robbins, a daugh- 
ter of the late T. M. Robbins, of Guilford, 
Me. Mrs. Field is one of four children born 
to her parents, her only sister being a resident 
of Guilford, and Leroy T. Robbins, her sur- 
viving brother, being a resident of Leeds. A 
brother George was killed at the close of the 
war. Mrs. Augusta J. Field was engaged in 
teaching school before her marriage, and since 
then has clone efficient service in this place as 
a member of the Board of Education. 

In politics Mr. Field is a stanch adherent 
of the Republican part} - , and in the adminis- 
tration of local affairs he is a conspicuous 
figure. Though never an office-seeker, he is 
now serving his third term as Alderman, hav- 
ing been elected in 1892 by eight votes, and 
the following term by sixteen, and at the last 
election by a majority of seventy-two v< 
being now President of the Board, and, in the 
absence of the Mayor, chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Highways and of the fire depart- 
ment. Mr. Field belongs to the Knights 
Templars, being Past Eminent Commander, 
and having passed all the chairs of the North- 
ampton Royal Arch Chapter and Jerusalem 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He is a leader in the 
social life of Northampton, and, whenever he 
absents himself from the club, is greatly 
missed. Business associates and friends who 
know his worth hold him in high esteem, and 
strangers are attracted toward him by his 
pleasing personality and cordial manners. 
That he is happily endowed mentally and 
physically may be seen from his portrait here 
given. 



[82 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



iDWARD C. PACKARD, Town Clerk 
and a member of the Board of Select- 
men of Goshen, was born in this 
town October 14, 1847, son of Hiram and 
Lurane (Carpenter) Packard. Mr. Packard's 
great-grandfather, Joshua Packard, settled in 
Goshen in 1770; and here Wil lard Packard, one 
of his three sons, became a large land-owner 
and was an extensive raiser of cattle and sheep. 
The farm now occupied by J. Beals was a part 
of his estate. Willard Packard married Bath- 
sheba Smith, and had a family of nine chil- 
dren: William S., Cordelia, Edmund, Malesta, 
Julia, Willard, Emeline, Hiram, and Free- 
man S. 

Hiram Packard, one of the two younger sons 
of Willard, bought a portion of his father's 
farm, which he later sold, and purchased the 
Smith farm of one hundred acres. He im- 
proved the place, erected a new house and 
barn, and resided there for twenty years. He 
then sold that property and bought the Carpen- 
ter farm, which consisted of one hundred acres ; 
and here he also erected new buildings. 
Hiram Packard was a Republican in politics, 
and became prominent in public affairs, serv- 
ing as a Selectman, Town Treasurer, and as a 
member of the House of Representatives in 
1873. He was a progressive and public-spir- 
ited man and a member of the Congregational 
church. He died in 1894, aged seventy-six 
years. His wife, Lurane Carpenter, who sur- 
vives him, became the mother of three chil- 
dren, as follows: Henry W. , Edward C, and 
Charles S. 

Edward C. Packard resided with his par- 
ents until reaching the age of twenty-one. 
During the mining excitement in 1869 he_ 
went to Colorado, where he was successful ; 
and returning to Goshen he purchased the old 
homestead, upon which he has since conducted 
general farming. He has also engaged in 



lumbering with good results. He is superin- 
tendent of construction upon a section of the 
State road, his portion of which is a creditable 
piece of work. Mr. Packard is a Republican 
in politics and has served in different positions 
of public trust, having been a Selectman, As- 
sessor, and Overseer of the Poor for six years, 
and Town Clerk for two terms. 

On October 14, 1875, Mr. Packard was 
united in marriage to his first wife, whose 
maiden name was Vesta C. Dresser, and who 
was a daughter of George Dresser. She died 
in 1879, aged twenty-four, leaving two chil- 
dren — Edward W. and Lawrence A. Mr. 
Packard wedded for his second wife, Septem- 
ber 20, 1883, Abbie Z. Wakefield, daughter of 
John Wakefield, of Reading, Mass., and has 
five children, as follows: Lurane, Henry W., 
Rachel, Arthur W. , and Frances E. Mr. and 
Mrs. Packard are members of the Congrega- 
tional church. 




HARLES L. HOSFORD, proprietor 
of Terrace Grove, Williamsburg, and 
a veteran of the Civil War, was 
born in Williamstown, Berkshire County, 
Mass., November 12, 1839, son of Arad and 
Sophia (Bardwell) Hosford. Mr. Hosford's 
grandfather, Stephen Hosford, was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War. He followed agri- 
culture in Plainfield, Mass., for some time, 
and later moved to Goshen, where he became 
a prosperous farmer. 

Arad Hosford, Mr. Hosford's father, was 
born in Plainfield in 1795. At the age of 
twenty-one he entered mercantile life in Will- 
iamstown as a clerk; and after continuing in 
that capacity for several years he purchased a 
farm, upon which he settled. He became an 
extensive real estate dealer and was a progres- 
sive citizen. He was a Captain in the State 
militia and a Whig in politics. He died in 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



>S.3 



1857. His wife, Sophia Bardwell, was a 
daughter of Obediah Bardwell, a veteran and a 
pensioner of the Revolutionary War, who died 
at the advanced age of ninety-six years. She 
became the mother of eleven children, four of 
whom died young. Those who reached matu- 
rity were: Harriet, Calvin C. , Chester B., B. 
Frank, William A., Charles L., and Mary. 
The mother died in 1872, aged sixty-four 
years. 

Charles L. Hosford was educated in the dis- 
trict schools of Williamstown; and at the age 
of eighteen he went to Winsted, Conn., where 
he was engaged as a clerk for four years, In 
1 ST) 1 he enlisted as a private in Company E, 
Second Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, for 
three months' service; and at the expiration of 
that time he re-enlisted and was commissioned 
a Lieutenant. 

He was subsequently promoted to the rank 
of Captain, and participated in several impor- 
tant battles. He resigned his commission in 
1863, and returning to Winsted engaged in the 
retail boot and shoe business. In 1S71 he 
sold his business and came to Haydenville, 
where he secured a position at the brass works, 
in which he later became overseer of his 
department. He remained there until 1885, 
when failing health caused him to retire. In 
1887 he bought the William Skinner farm of 
sixty-three acres, which was comparatively 
unimproved, with the exception of twelve acres 
of meadow land; and he proceeded to clear the 
neglected portion into a state of cultivation. 
He erected a handsome house and spacious 
barns, with all modern conveniences; and upon 
the completion of the electric road from North- 
ampton he beautified and fitted up a fine grove of 
stately pines and oaks for amusement purposes. 

Mr. Hosford has spared neither pains nor 
expense in making Terrace Grove an attractive- 
picnic ground. It contains a platform seventy 



by thirty feet, covered by a canvas awning 

and capable of seating two hundred people, 
with kitchen conveniences connected equal to 
the preparation of an elaborate dinner. There- 
is an oven for clam-bakes, with ample space 
for lawn tennis, base-ball, company drill, and 
all other out-of-door exercises. Special pains 
have been taken to make the grove popular as 
a resort for chowder and clam-bake parties, 
basket picnics, and evening parties; and a 
pleasant dressing-room is provided for ladies. 
The grove is reached by the New York, New 
Haven & Hartford Railroad, and the electric 
cars from Northampton run to a point within 
two minutes' walk .if the entrance. Although 
Terrace Grove has been opened but a short 
time, it is already appreciated by many, and is 
a popular resort for summer outing parties. 
Mr. Hosford's enterprise merits all the success 
to be anticipated. 

On September 22, 18(14, Mr. Hosford was 
united in marriage to Harriet I. Pierce, daugh- 
ter of Amos Pierce, a prosperous farmer and 
dairyman of Winsted, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hosford had seven children, namely: Nellie, 
who died in infancy; Alice, who resides at 
home; Howard, who married Lillian Van 
Slyke, and is a travelling salesman for the 
brass works in Haydenville; Mary, a talented 
singer, who resides at home; Frank P., a 
machinist of Williamsburg; Robert, who died 
young; and Charles, who resides at home. 
Mr. Hosford is a member of St. Andrew's 
Lodge of A. F. & A. M. ot Winsted. He is 
a Democrat in politics and liberal in his 
religious views. 



USTIN GEER, who is successfully en- 
raged in general farming and dairying 
in the town of VVorthington, was 
born within the borders of that town on Octo- 
ber iN, [821, being a son of Luther and 




184 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Joanna Geer, the former of whom was a native 
of Peru, Mass., and the latter of Chesterfield, 
Mass. 

Luther Geer followed the different occupa- 
tions of carpenter, farmer, and shoemaker, the 
last named only to a limited extent. In 1810 
he settled in Worthington, purchasing about 
one hundred acres of land, but little of which 
had been cleared and brought into a state of 
cultivation. Later on he added to it by the 
purchase of forty acres. The last years of his 
life were spent on his farm, where he died in 
April, 1854. His wife's death occurred over 
twenty years previously, in January, 1832, 
leaving nine children : Roxana, Sherman, 
Warren L., Rosilla J., Lucy, Austin, Dolly 
Ann, Clarinda, and Maria D. Of these but 
two, Austin and Rosilla, are now living. 
Their father subsequently married Miss Lydia 
Bisbee, of Chesterfield, Mass., the ceremony 
being performed on May 30, 1832. Marietta 
Geer, the only child born of the latter union, 
died when but twenty years of age. In poli- 
tics Mr. Geer was a Whig. 

Austin Geer continued to live with his par- 
ents for a year after he attained his majority. 
He then for two years followed the business of 
a pedler with good success, but was taken 
sick with a fever, which laid him up for about 
a year. When again able to work he accepted 
a position in a store in Pittsfield, where he 
remained for eight months. He next engaged 
in agriculture, and, being possessed of good 
business ability and prudence, his enterprises 
have prospered so that he is now the owner of 
over five hundred acres of land. He carries 
on general farming, raises a good quantity of 
such standard New England products as corn, 
oats, and potatoes, and also engages mod- 
erately in dairying. On October 9, 1849, Mr. 
Geer was joined in marriage with Miss Lucy 
Ann Osgood, whose birth occurred in New 



Lebanon, N.Y., December 27, 1823. Her 
parents, Safford and Olive (Abby) Osgood, 
were respectively natives of New Hampshire 
and New York. They came to Massachusetts 
in 1830, first settling in Peru, and later on re- 
moving to Worthington. Her father was a 
mason by trade, and also followed agriculture 
with success. He spent the last years of his 
life in Worthington, where he died February 1, 
1890. His wife died many years previously, 
on February 22, 1864. Both are buried in 
Worthington. Mr. and Mrs. Geer's union has 
been blessed by four children, as follows: Ann 
Jane, born August 13, 1850, living at home; 
Millard Henry, born April 4, 1852, who died 
March 24, 1854; Charles Preston, born Au- 
gust 3, 1856; and Addie F. , born November 
5, 1 861 , who died May 27, 1865. Charles 
Preston Geer, who has made his home with his 
parents, is, like his father, a successful farmer; 
and in connection with that avocation he de- 
votes some time to that of pedler. On Sep- 
tember 15, 1892, he was married to Miss 
Lemira Edith Pelton, who was born in Spring- 
field, Mass., July 10, 1864. She is a daugh- 
ter of John Winfield and Lemira Phoebe 
(Kingsley) Pelton. The father was born June 
23, 1 82 1 ; and the mother's birth occurred in 
Plainfield, Mass., May 29, 1829. Mr. Pelton 
was a carpenter and builder throughout his 
life. He died April 3, 1866, and is buried in 
Springfield, Mass. He was the father of 
the following children: George F. ; Francis 
G. ; Louis D. ; Franklin E. ; Charles S. ; 
John W., Jr.; Lemira Edith; and Martha 
I. Lemira Edith and John W. , Jr., are 
the only survivors. The latter, who is a 
travelling salesman for a Boston firm, was mar- 
ried October 23, 1S86, to Miss Lizzie Jones 
Bartlett, of Hartford, Conn., and has two chil- 
dren : Alice Frances and George Bartlett. 
Mrs. Pelton lives with her daughter. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



iS: 



Mr. Geer is a Republican in politics, and 
lias always been an ardent advocate of the prin- 
ciples of his party. During the past twenty 
years he has rendered faithful and efficient ser- 
vice as Highway Surveyor. He served accept- 
ably as Selectman in 1891, ami has also acted 
as Overseer of the Poor. 




% 



jHARLES E. BROOKS, a leading 
tanner of Goshen and one of the town 
fathers, was born in Williamsburg, 
Mass., October 1, 1850, son of Horatio and 
Elizabeth C. (Chapman) Brooks, and grandson 
of Nathan and Eunice (Weeks) Brooks. The 
grandfather, Nathan Brooks, who was born in 
Rehoboth in 1779, was a well-to-do farmer. 
He died in 1S56; and his wife, who was three 
years younger, passed away in the same year. 
They reared six children; namely, Eunice, 
Nathan, Horatio, Rhoda, Levi, and Samuel. 

Horatio Brooks, the father of the subject of 
this sketch, was a native of Huntington, Mass. 
When quite young he learned the blacksmith 
trade, and for some years worked as a journey- 
man, spending some time in Hatfield. He 
then bought a shop in Williamsburg and car- 
ried on a very successful business until 1863, 
when, deciding to retire, he bought the Abells 
farm in Goshen. This estate contained one 
hundred acres of good land. Mr. Brooks 
much enhanced its value by making many 
improvements and repairing the buildings. 
He died at the age of sixty-four; his wife's 
death occurred when she was sixty-two. In 
politics Mr. Brooks was a Republican, and in 
religious belief he and his wife were Advent- 
ists. They had but one child, who is the 
subject of this sketch. 

Charles E. Brooks received his education in 
the common schools of Williamsburg. Lie 
remained on the farm until twenty-three years 



of age, when he started to earn a livelihood for 
himself. At the end of three years, however, 
he returned home and took charge of the farm, 
which has been under his management up to 
the present time. He carries on general farm- 
ing and keeps a small dairy of choice Hol- 
steins. From both sources he derives a com- 
fortable income. 

Mr. Brooks was twice married. His first 
wife, to whom he was united in 1878, was Jen- 
nie S. , daughter of William S. Packard. She 
died at the age of twenty-seven, leaving two 
children: Harry W. , born July 21, 1880; and 
Raymond E. , who was born June 3, 1889. 
Mr. Brooks's second wife was Laura Barrus, 
daughter of Charles Barrus, of Springfield. 
She is the mother of one child, Marion A., 
born March 21, 1892. 

In politics Mr. Brooks is a Republican. 
He has served as Selectman for ten consecu- 
tive years, and is one of the superintendents of 
the work on the macadamized State road, now 
being constructed in the town of Goshen. In 
this employment he spares no pains in forward- 
ing the work. In religious belief Mr. Brooks 
and his wife are Congregationalists. 



~\r\ WIGHT A. HORTON is an exten- 
Irr-J sive dealer in wood, coal, and fertil- 
r~*+m^ izers at Northampton, and was born 
in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. June 5, 
1830. His father, Ansel Horton, who now 
resides at Savoy, Mass., hale and hearty at the 
age of eighty-nine years, was born on May 28, 
1806, and is a son of Asahel Horton, whose 
birth occurred at Rehoboth, Mass., in 1771. 
Asahel Hoi ton settled in Windsor, Berkshire 
County, Mass., when a young man, and fol- 
lowed agriculture there during the remainder 
of his life, lie was a very eccentric charac- 
ter, and was known as Uncle Horton. He 



i86 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



married Jemimah Aldrich ; and she was the 
mother of three sons and one daughter, of 
whom two sons are still living, namely: 
Aaron, who now resides at Leverett, aged 
seventy-nine years; and Ansel, Mr. Horton's 
father. Asahel Horton's wife died at the age 
of ninety-three years. 

Mr. Horton's mother was before her mar- 
riage Hannah Thompson, of Windsor. She 
was a daughter of Samuel and Mary Thomp- 
son, residents of Cummington. Ansel Horton 
was a carpenter by trade, and reared his eight 
sons to the same occupation. He was a promi- 
nent builder in this section, and during his six 
years of apprenticeship worked for one year 
upon the first United States Hotel at Saratoga 
Springs. The Baptist and Methodist Epis- 
copal churches in Savoy were erected by him, 
as were also the first glass works building and 
the blast furnace at Cheshire, Mass. He pos- 
sessed three large farms at Savoy and Windsor, 
the last of which he sold in 1893. He was a 
Methodist in religious belief; and his wife, 
who died in 1867, at the age of sixty-two 
years, was a Baptist. 

Dwight A. Horton attended the district 
schools in his boyhood, and at the age of four- 
teen years commenced to learn the carpenter's 
trade. He followed that occupation until 
i860, when he went to St. Charles, Mich., 
and assumed charge of a lumber business. In 
1862, with ninety-eight others, he went to 
Lansing, Mich., for the purpose of enlisting 
for service in the Civil War, but was rejected 
on account of disability. Returning East he 
again sought to enroll himself among the 
Union's defenders, but met with the same 
difficulty. He has been an extensive contrac- 
tor and builder, and among his enterprises in 
this direction are the Schimmerhorn House at 
Lenox and the Northrop Block at Lee. Mr 
Horton is a Master Mason, having been Secre- 



tary of the Lodge, and is a Republican in 
politics. He was for nine years an Assessor 
in the town of Hadley, was a member of the 
Common Council at Northampton two years, 
during one of which he was chairman of 
that body, and has been a member of the 
State Board of Agriculture for the past seven 
years. He was a charter member of the State 
Grange, and has held the office of Deputy 
Grand Master of two local Granges, having 
also been a member of the State Dairy Bureau 
since its organization. 

On August 24, 1854, Mr. Horton was 
united in marriage to Miss Amanda M. Mason, 
a school-mate, daughter of Edward and Maria 
Mason, of Savoy. Of their six children one 
died in infancy; the others are as follows: 
Frederick, who for the past eighteen years has 
been a prominent railroad official at Vera Cruz, 
Mexico, having a wife and one son, Fred- 
erick D. ; Helen L., wife of H. L. Phelps, of 
West Springfield, Mass., having three daugh- 
ters and one son; Ralph M., a salt dealer of 
Northampton, who resides at old Hadley, hav- 
ing a wife, two sons, and three daughters; 
Susan P., wife of Eugene Dickinson, turnkey 
at the Hampshire County Jail, having two 
daughters ; and Dora, a graduate of the Saxon 
River Academy, who was married September 
25, 1895, to Dr. J. H. Roberts, a veterinary 
surgeon of Northampton, and with her husband 
lives at her father's home. Mrs. Horton died 
on May 20, 1893, at the age of fifty-nine 
years. Mr. Horton is a Baptist in his relig- 
ious belief, and the family attend that church. 



"tp)TORACE K. PARSONS, whose por- 
r^-| trait appears on the page opposite 

Ji 9 V^ _, and an outline of whose course in life 

as a very capable man of business and a patri- 
otic citizen of the Republic is given below, 











HORACE K. PARSONS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1 89 



died after a lingering illness, in Florence, 
Mass., on June 8, 1891, at fifty-six years of 
age. His widow, Mrs. Sarah A. Parsons, still 
resides at the pleasant home in this village 
where they had lived together nearly twenty 
years. Mr. Parsons was horn in Enfield, 
Conn., and was a son of Josiah and Lucy 
(Markham) Parsons, and a grandson of Josiah, 
Jr., and Demias (Kellogg) Parsons. His 
grandparents had one son and two daughters; 
and the son, Josiah Parsons, Jr., died in 1845, 
in the prime of life, leaving two sons, Russell 
U. and Horace K., and one daughter, Mrs. 
Fidelia Fairman, of Enfield, Conn. Russell 
D. Parsons died in 1883, leaving three sons 
and a daughter. He was a painter by trade, 
and met his death by a fall while engaged at 
his work. 

Horace K. Parsons received his education at 
Wilbraham Academy, and taught school a few 
terms in early life. After his marriage he 
settled in Thompsonville, Conn., where he 
lived until he volunteered for service in the 
Civil War in the fall of 1861. He entered 
the Tenth Connecticut Regiment, of which 
Henry Clay Trumbull was Chaplain, and 
served at first in the ranks, but was afterward 
detailed as Commissary Sergeant and later was 
promoted to the position of Quartermaster of 
the regiment. He was present at the surren- 
der of Lee, being soon after joined by his 
wife at Richmond, anil was mustered out at 
Hartford, Conn., in August, 1865, having 
served about four years. In January, 1866, he 
came to Florence, Mass., as agent for the 
Florence Mercantile Company, which be man- 
aged successfully for ten years, the company 
then closing up its affairs. Mr. 1'arsnns con- 
tinued in mercantile business during the re- 
mainder of his life. His marriage with Miss 
Sarah A. Levitt was solemnized on March 4, 
i860. 



Mrs. Parsons is a daughter of William and 
Agnes (Hurd) Levitt, and was born in Eng- 
land. Her parents and an uncle came to this 
country about 1842, and settled in South Had- 
ley, from which place they afterward removed 
to Thompsonville, Conn. Her father was a 
manufacturer of textile fabrics. Mrs. Parsons 
has two sisters and four brothers, namely : 
Elizabeth, the wife of Clifford Parsons, living 
in Bristol, Conn. ; George Levitt, who served 
in the Civil War, married in Virginia, and has 
two children ; Thomas Levitt, living in Bris- 
tol, Conn. ; Robert Levitt, residing in Wes- 
terly, R. I. ; Mary, who married William Ful- 
ton, of Florence, Mass. ; and Willie Levitt, of 
Ellington, Conn. Their mother died at fifty- 
three years of age, and their father twenty 
years later, in 1887, at seventy-seven years of 
age. Their remains rest in Windsorville 
cemeterv, two miles from their home at Broad 
Brook, Conn. 

Mr. and Mrs. Parsons became the parents of 
eight children. They lost their only daughter 
in infancy and a son Freddie at the age oi 
twenty-one months. The six living children 
are as follows: Lincoln Horace Parsons, who 
was born on the day of President Lincoln's in- 
auguration, is married, and is engaged in busi- 
ness as a meat dealer in Florence; Charles O. 
Parsons, the successor to his father in trade 
and at one time Postmaster of Florence, who 
married Miss Mary Dilworth, of Belfast, Me., 
and has one daughter; Royal A. Parsons, un- 
married, residing at home; George K. Parsons, 
a plumber and tinsmith in Springfield, Mass., 
who married Miss Lucy German; Harry M. 
Parsons, a young man nineteen years of age, 
at home and engaged in the jeweller's trade ; 
and Robert 1-'. Parsons, a promising lad of 
fifteen years, attending school. 

Mr. Parsons was a stanch Republican. He 
served as Alderman, and was Postmaster at the 



190 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



time of his death. Fraternally, he was a 
member of the Masonic Order, and also of the 
William L. Baker Post, No. 86, Grand Army 
of the Republic. He and his wife were mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, of 
which he was one of the founders, the first 
meetings being held at his home. Mrs. Par- 
sons is now a firm believer in Christian Sci- 
ence. She is a woman of fine physical and 
remarkable mental ability. Her husband was 
a clear-headed business man, and left a goodly 
estate. In 1873 he erected their fine home on 
his little fruit farm, which he purchased soon 
after coming to Florence, and the store, post- 
office building, and substantial barn were all 
built before his death. 



tLBERT M. BELDEN, M.D., a resi- 
dent of Chesterfield and a leading 
s> t physician of Hampshire County, was 

born in Whately, June 22, 1867, and in the 
same house where his father and grandfather 
had likewise been born. The Doctor's great- 
grandfather Belden, was a soldier in the Revo- 
lutionary War. On the cessation of hostilities 
he located in Whately, being one of its earli- 
est settlers. He bought the original Belden 
homestead, and there reared his children. 

Elihu Belden succeeded to the ownership of 
the homestead property, and was one of the 
foremost agriculturists of this part of the 
county for many years. In addition to general 
farming he raised and sold large quantities of 
tobacco. He continued a resident of the town 
until his decease, November 13, 1882. He 
married Roxanna Leonard, who died Septem- 
ber 3, 1870. They became the parents of 
eight children, namely: Henrietta, deceased; 
Franklin, residing in Whately; Elihu Leon- 
ard; Channing Snow, of Hartford; William 
Clifford, a resident of Springfield, Mass. ; 



Rufus Howland, deceased; Albert Matson, 
the subject of this sketch; and a child that 
died in infancy. 

Albert M. Belden attended the public 
schools in his early years. Before he had 
completed his schooling his father's death 
occurred. He pursued his medical studies 
with private tutors and at home, afterward 
entering the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, from which he was graduated with the 
class of March 15, 1888. He first opened an 
office in Cummington, where he practised 
eight months, and then came to Chesterfield, 
where he has since resided. He has built up 
an extensive practice, and in the discharge of 
his duties has won the approbation and confi- 
dence of the entire community. 

On December 25, 1888, Dr. Belden was 
united in marriage with Mabel Marian Bick- 
nell, a daughter of the late Luke E. and Lu- 
cretia T. (Pierce) Bicknell, then residents of 
West Cummington. Her father was a soldier 
in the late war, having been mustered in as 
Lieutenant in the company of sharpshooters, 
and afterward promoted to the rank of Captain. 
Captain Bicknell was wounded in battle, and 
subsequently died from the effects of the wound. 
Mrs. Bicknell survived him, and is now living 
in West Cummington. One child has been born 
to the Doctor and his wife, Roxanna Leonard, 
whose birth occurred February 21, 1892. 

Dr. Belden occupies a place of prominence 
in local affairs, and has served in many offices 
within the gift of his fellow-townsmen. He 
was for three years a member of the School 
Board, and is now filling the position of 
Health Officer. His wife succeeded him in 
the School Board, where she ably assists in 
advancing the educational interests of the 
town. Politically, he is a firm believer in the 
principles of the Republican party. He is a 
member of the Ancient Order of L T nited Work- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



19 ! 



men, Chesterfield Lodge, No. 175, of West 
Chesterfield, of which he is also the medical 
examiner. Religiously, he is a consistent 
member of the Congregational church. 



r)RGK 1). HANNUM, an enterpris- 
ing farmer of Southampton, was born 
in Westfield, June 3, 1836, son of 
Theodore and Selemna (Stocking) Hannuni. 
Mr. Hannum's father was born in Chesterfield, 
and there spent his earlier years. He subse- 
quently conducted a hotel in Huntington, and 
likewise paid some attention to farming. He 
removed to Westfield, where he again engaged 
in the hotel business, and in connection there- 
with successfully managed a livery business. 
His wife died in March, 1840, ami he survived 
her but a few months, dying January 16, 1841. 
They had two children, of whom the first died 
in infancy. The other is the subject of this 
sketch. 

George D. Hannum, left an orphan at the 
age of five years, was taken charge of by 
his grandfather, Jaius Hannum, of Agawam, 
where he was reared and educated. In 1851 
his grandfather removed to Southampton, set- 
tling on a farm, which he operated success- 
fully until his demise, February 7, 1854, aged 
seventy-one years. Though but eighteen years 
old Mr. Hannum took charge of the estate, 
and continued to manage its affairs until 1866, 
when he purchased a part of the farm he now 
occupies. The rest of it he has since added to 
the original purchase, making a snug farm of 
sixty acres. All of it is under cultivation, 
and it shows many recent improvements. Mr. 
Hannum's operations are marked l>v ability 
and foresight, and are always successful. 

On June 9, 1856, while living (in the old 
homestead of his grandfather, Mr. Hannum 
was united in marriage with Eliza E. Strong, 



born in this town May 9, [837, daughter of 
Alpheus and Eliza Strong. Her parents were 
early settlers of the locality, and there spent 
their last years. Mr. and Mrs. Hannum had 
four children, as follows: Mabel, born August 
2, 1858, who died Jul\' 16, i860; Florence, 
born November 22, i860, living at home; 
George A., born September 2, 1863, now em- 
ployed in an office in Hartford, Conn. ; and 
Clayton F., born October 22, 1865, living on 
the home farm, and assisting in its manage- 
ment. The latter is married to Julia B. 
Streeter; and they have one child, Iola. In 
politics Mr. Hannum is a supporter of the Re- 
publican party. He was Selectman from 1S76 
until 1884, and has been Collector of Taxes 
for eight years. 

^OIIN VOGEL, a well-to-do farmer re- 
siding in Northampton, is a native of 
Germany and was born February 17, 
1823, in Wiirtemberg. His father, George 
Vogel, was a baker; and his entire life was 
spent in his native land. At his death he left 
his widow with a number of young children. 

John Vogel was deprived of his father's care 
at an early age, and in consequence had little 
time given him to attend school. When but 
ten years old he was employed on his uncle's 
farm, where he was obliged to work for many 
hours each day, gaining little more than a hard 
familiarity with farm labor. After fifteen 
years spent in this way he married Mary Waltz, 
and with her sailed for America, March 17, 
1847. He landed in New York City after a 
voyage of thirty-seven days. After he had 
been in the city four days Mr. Vogel chanced 
to meet Mr. Porter Nutting, of Northampton, 
who proposed to employ him in his brickyard 
at ten dollars per month with board. The 
offer was gladly accepted. On arriving here, 
May 14, 1847, Mr. Vogel found himself eigh- 



(92 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



teen dollars in debt. This he soon paid off. 
He continued in Mr. Nutting's employment 
twenty-one years, his wages having risen from 
ten dollars to one hundred dollars a month, as 
his services became more valuable. During 
the last nine years of his connection with the 
place he superintended the large plant in the 
capacity of foreman. 

Mr. Vogel was not only energetic and indus- 
trious, but was very sensible in his expendi- 
tures, investing his money in a cosey home, 
comprising a house and lot, which he bought 
in 1S50, for seven hundred and fifty dollars. 
The lot contained an acre and a half. Since 
then he has bought twenty acres of adjoin- 
ing land, and in 1874 he built his first 
barn. Unfortunately, this was struck by light- 
ning, and he had to rebuild it in 1883. Be- 
sides this property Mr. Vogel has two lots of 
meadow land, one five and one-half acres and 
the other seven acres, which he farms. He 
keeps a few fine horses, has two cows, and a 
fine Jersey bull, a thoroughbred. In the caring 
for his land and stock he finds much pleasure 
as well as profit. 

Mrs. Vogel departed this life September 3, 
1874, aged fifty-five years, leaving two chil- 
dren, as follows : John, a resident of this city, 
married to Annie Rocky, and the father of 
three children, two daughters and a son; while 
Caroline is the wife of Edward Clark, Jr., the 
superintendent of the street railway, and has 
two children, a son and a daughter. In his po- 
litical principles Mr. Vogel is perfectly indepen- 
dent, and in religion he is bound by no creed; 
while he belongs to no clan, club, or secret 
organization. 



fRANKLIN H. BRYANT, an extensive 
farmer and stock-raiser of Chesterfield, 
Mass., was born in this town March 9, 
1842, son of Holly and Elmira (House) 



Bryant, both natives of Chesterfield. Holly 
Bryant was born on December 18, 1798, in 
the house where his son now lives. He was a 
well-to-do farmer and passed his life on the 
estate, dying March 3, 1856. His wife, who 
was born February iS, 1804, died June 10, 
1889, her last days being spent with her son, 
the subject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. 
Holly Bryant were the parents of nine chil- 
dren, namely: Emily, born December 6, 1826, 
who married Woodbridge Clapp, and died Feb- 
ruary 15, 1869, having been the mother of six 
children, all now deceased; Levi, born April 
2, 1S28, who married Julia Baker, and lives 
near his brother Franklin H. ; Ellen E., born 
October 9, 1829, who married William Allen, 
and died October 30, 1858; Zeruah, born July 
12, 1 83 1, wife of George Rice, a resident of 
Minnesota, who has three children — George, 
Willie, and Alary; Samuel W. , born April 5, 
1833, who died December 5, 1844; Austin 
G., born March 1, 1835, who died August 10, 
1859; Philetus, born January 30, 1837, who 
died November 24, 1865, leaving a widow, 
now living in Chesterfield; Henry, born July 
29, 1839, who died November 2, 1849; and 
Franklin H., our subject. 

Although Franklin H. Bryant was but four- 
teen years of age when his father died, he soon 
assumed a man's responsibilities, aiding mate- 
rially about the farm and helping his brother 
until his majority. He then moved to another 
farm, where he was profitably engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits till the death of his brother, 
when he returned to the parental roof and for 
two years was engaged in tilling the home 
fields. He then took charge of the whole 
estate, which comprises eight hundred acres, 
about two hundred being under cultivation, 
and is now the owner of the property. He 
carries on general farming on an extensive 
scale, and raises some fine stock. Diligent, 






*^ 




FRANKLIN H. ERYANT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



195 



energetic, and thrifty, he has made many 
improvements on the farm and lias richly 
earned the prosperity he enjoys. 

On December 1, 1864, Mr. Bryant was mar- 
ried to Annette W., daughter of Daniel C. 
and Mary Ann (Wilder) Baker. Mrs. Bryant 
was born in Chesterfield, December I, 1842. 
Mr. Baker was a native of Chesterfield, and 
here spent his life, engaged in farming. His 
wife was burn in Cherry Valley, X. Y. , and 
became a resident of Pittsfield when quite 
young. Both are now deceased. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bryant have three adopted children, 
namely: Frederick Allen, born July 12, 1871, 
who married Alice Flagg, of Connecticut, and 
resides near Mr. Bryant; William Francis, 
born January 15, 1878; and Fannie M., born 
May 15, 1S81, both of whom reside with their 
foster-parents. Mr. Bryant has given his chil- 
dren the best of educational advantages, send- 
ing them to the best schools in the county. 

In politics Mr. Bryant is a stanch adherent 
of the Republican party. He served as Se- 
lectman five years, and has also been Assessor 
and Overseer of the Poor. He is one of the 
leading citizens of Chesterfield, ami has a very 
pleasant home, his dwelling, which is roomy 
and substantial, suiting well the ample grounds 
which surround it, and well expressing the 
owner's large-hearted hospitality. The ac- 
companying portrait of Mr. Bryant will be 
recognized and appreciated by man)' friends 
and accmaintances. 




|DWIN COOK CLARK, Jk., superin- 
tendent of the Northampton Street 
Railway Company and a highly re- 
spected citizen of Northampton, was bom in 
Southampton in 1856, son of Captain Edwin 
Cook and Emily L. (Hines) Clark, the former 
of whom is a native of Xorthampton. 



Allen Clark, the grandfather of Edwin Cook 
Clark, Jr., who was born in 1787, was likewise 
a native and lifelong resident of Xorthampton. 
During the active period of his life he was suc- 
cessfullv engaged in agriculture on his farm, 
which was located in the section through 
which Harrison Avenue now runs. He died 
in 1849, at the age of sixty-two years. He 
married Miss Sophia Cook, and their union 
was blessed by the birth of four sons and four 
daughters, all of whom grew to maturity. 
Two are now living, namely: Captain Edwin 
Cook Clark, and his sister, Pamelia, widow 
of Heman Smith, who resides in Springfield, 
Mass. Mrs. Clark died seventy-four years 
of age. 

Captain Edwin Cook Clark, who has now- 
retired from active business life, is well known 
in Xorthampton and vicinity. He assisted his 
father in carrying on the farm. After four or 
five years spent in California and in New 
York City, he helped in establishing the firm 
of E. C. Clark & Co., in which for several 
years he successfully engaged in the manufact- 
ure of lumber. lie was also superintendent of 
the Street Railway Company, in which capac- 
itv he rendered most acceptable service from 
1877 up to 188S, when he was succeeded by 
his son. His wife, Emily L. (Hines) Clark, 
a native of Becket, Mass., has borne him two 
sons and two daughters: Ida Beebe, wife of 
Joseph Carhart, President of the State Normal 
School of St. Cloud, Minn.; Edwin C, Jr.; 
Mary, who married F. Y. Mitchell, a grain 
merchant of Hartford, Conn. ; and William 
Clark, a coal dealer in Lansinghurg, X. Y. 

Edwin C. Clark, Jr., received his early edu- 
cation in the public schools of Xorthampton, 
and completed his studies at the Mount Pleas- 
ant Private School of Amherst. He then en- 
gaged in the livery business with his father 
until 1882, when he secured a position as con- 



1 96 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ductor mi the street railway. Since then he 
has been in the employ of that company in 
different capacities, from trackman up to his 
present position as superintendent, which he 
has filled since 1888. In this office he has the 
supervision of from one hundred and fifty to 
twn hundred men, and the charge of seventeen 
miles of street tracks. 

On December 5, 1877, Mr. Clark was united 
in marriage with Miss Mona Vogel, of North- 
ampton, a daughter of John Vogel. They had 
three children, as follows: Ida Mary, who 
died in 1887, eight years of age; Annette Isa- 
bel, aged fourteen years, who is attending 
school ; and Edwin Cook Clark, a lad of six 
years. In politics Mr. Clark is a Republican. 
He is esteemed for his business ability and 
manly characteristics. 






LBERT N. GURNEY, a prominent 
farmer and produce dealer of Plain- 
field and a member of the Board of 
Selectmen, was born in Cummington, Mass., 
April 6, 1847, son of Rush and Cordelia 
(Joy) Gurney. 

Mr. Gurney's great-grandfather, Benjamin 
Gurney, was a native of Abington, Mass., and 
settled upon a tract of wild land in Cumming- 
ton in 1770. He cleared and improved the 
farm which W. E. Tower now owns, and re- 
sided there during the remainder of his life, 
which was prolonged to an advanced age. 
His son, Asa Gurney, Mr. Gurney's grand- 
father, was born in Abington in 1758, and 
was twelve years of age when his father moved 
to Cummington. He assisted in clearing the 
land, and resided at home until the com- 
mencement of the Revolutionary War, when 
he enlisted as a private in the Continental 
army. After his discharge he returned to 
Cummington, and bought his father's farm, 



which he later sold. He then purchased 
eighty acres of land, upon which he settled, 
and cleared a productive farm. He erected a 
substantial house and other farm buildings, 
which have stood since 1808, and are now oc- 
cupied by John VV. Gurney. He received a 
pension of ninety-six dollars per year for his 
services in the war. Asa Gurney died in 
Cummington at a good old age. He married 
Polly Reed, and she became the mother of ten 
children: Reed, Charles, Zenus, Lydia, 
Charlotte, Alonzo, Rush, Betsey, Lydia (sec- 
ond), and Polly. She died in Cummington at 
an advanced age. 

Rush Gurney, Mr. Gurney's father, was 
born in Cummington in 1804. He resided 
with his parents until their death. He suc- 
ceeded to the ownership of the homestead; 
and, with the exception of a short time passed 
in the village, during which he leased it, he 
resided there until his death, on April 22, 
1856. He left the farm enlarged by forty 
acres of adjoining land. He was an Aboli- 
tionist, casting the first antislavery vote in 
Cummington, and was a Methodist in his re- 
ligious belief. He was twice married. His 
first wife, whose maiden name was Amelia 
Cowen, died in 1841, aged thirty-two years, 
having been the mother of five children: 
Sarah A.; John VV. ; Amelia; and two others 
who died in infancy. Rush Gurney married 
for his second wife Cordelia Joy, and his chil- 
dren by this union were: Justus W. ; James 
F. ; and Albert N., the subject of this 
sketch. The mother died in 1847. 

After his mother's death Albert N. Gur- 
ney, who was then but five months old, was 
taken in charge by his aunt, Emeline Joy, of 
Plainfield. She was the daughter of Leonard 
and Polly (Warner) Joy, who were old resi- 
dents and highly respected farming people of 
Plainfield, owning a good farm on High 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'97 



Street. It was here that Mr. Gurney was 
reared to manhood. When capable, he as- 
sisted on the farm; and during the declining 
years of his aunt and her aged parents he pro- 
vided for them every comfort that could be ex- 
pected. He succeeded to the ownership of 
the Joy farm, and has since remodelled the 
house, and built new barns. He keeps ten 
choice cows and sixty head of sheep, besides 
a number of horses ami young stock. In 
1 87 5 Mr. Gurney engaged in handling feed, 
grain, and flour; and in 1SS0 he commenced 
the buying and shipping of country produce, 
dressed hogs, beef, etc. Both enterprises 
proving profitable, he continues them. He 
also keeps a grocery store that is doing a good 
business, and which he stocks by exchanging 
his produce for groceries. He purchased 
some time ago the Campbell property in Plain- 
field village, which he now uses for an office 
and business headquarters, the finest location 
in town. Mr. Gurney is a Republican in pol- 
itics, and has been a Selectman, Assessor, and 
Overseer of the Poor for eight years, five of 
which he has served as chairman of the board. 
He has also held other town offices. 

On June 7, 1868, Mr. Gurney was united in 
marriage to Sarah O. Dunham, to whom as a 
life partner Mr. Gurney largely attributes his 
success. She was born in Savoy, Mass., 
January 16, 1849, daughter of Oren and Rox- 
anna (Stiles) Dunham, the former of whom 
was a prosperous farmer of that town. He- 
died in 1887, aged eighty years; ami his wife 
still survives, at the age of eighty-one. She 
is the mother of nine children: Warren, 
James, Ann S., Eliza M., Sarah O., Fannie 
L., Henry W. , Augusta M., and Charles F. 
All but one are still living. Mr. and Mrs. 
Gurney have one child, named Bertha B., who 
was born February 3, 1870. She married 
Henry C. Packard, a well-to-do farmer of 



Plainfield, and has two children: namely, 
Lillian G. and William A. Bertha B. re- 
ceived a common-school education, and was a 
successful teacher for several terms before her 
marriage. 



-J^VT^ARQUIS F. DIC 
fcdl=y perous farmer a 
<4 4jL? V^_^ of Amherst, 



ICKINSON, a pros- 
ami an old resident 
was born in that 
town, January 4, 18 14, son of Walter and 
Lydia E. Dickinson. Mr. Dickinson's ances- 
tors were among the early settlers of Am- 
herst; and his great-grandfather, Nathaniel 
Dickinson, first located upon the present 
Dickinson farm, and owned a large tract of 
land. He died in 1806, leaving one son. 

Mr. Dickinson's grandfather, Nathaniel 
Dickinson, was born in Amherst, September 
9, 1750. He graduated from Harvard Uni- 
versity in 1772, and was for many years the 
only lawyer in that part of Hampshire 
County. He became prominent in public 
affairs, was a Justice of the Peace, and for 
thirteen years Town Clerk. He resided with 
his parents, whom he assisted in managing the 
farm, and died at the age of fifty-two years. 
Nathaniel Dickinson was a Unitarian in his 
religious belief. He married Sarah Marsh, 
who was born July 20, 1753, and she became 
the mother of two children, namely: Susannah, 
who died October 8, 1836; and Walter, Air. 
Dickinson's father. The mother died in 1801. 

Walter Dickinson was born at the home- 
stead in Amherst, May 2, 1784. He was a 
well-to-do farmer, and always resided upon 
the Dickinson farm. He was independent 
in politics and liberal in his religious views. 
He died April 9, 1851. His wife, who was 
born in North Amherst in 1791, became the 
mother of ten children, as follows: Sylvester; 
Frederick I".., who resides in Leverett, Mass. ; 
Marquis !•'., the subject of this sketch; N T . 



i 9 8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Albert; Lydia E., wlio resides at the old 
homestead; Nehemiah; Leander M. and Amy 
S., who are now deceased; Walter M., a resi- 
dent of Georgia; and Sarah M., wife of Jona- 
than Cowls. The mother died March 21, 
1828. 

Marquis F. Dickinson received his educa- 
tion in the public schools of Amherst, and 
grew to manhood at the Dickinson homestead. 
He engaged in the manufacture of brooms in 
North Hadley, following that occupation for 
some time during his early manhood. After 
a residence in North Hadley of a few years 
he returned to Amherst, and, in company with 
his brother Sylvester, built a grist-mill in that 
town, which they operated for some years. In 
1844 he engaged in agriculture upon the farm 
where he now resides, built the residence, and 
has enjoyed a long period of prosperity. Mr. 
Dickinson is a Republican in politics, and 
was for many years actively interested in the 
town government. He was a member of the 
Board of Selectmen for seven years, during 
which he served as chairman. He was also 
Assessor for several years. He is connected 
with the Masonic fraternity, and is the oldest 
member of Pacific Lodge. 

On November 20, 1838, Mr. Dickinson was 
united in marriage to Hannah Williams. 
She was born in Shutesbury, Mass., Novem- 
ber 9, 18 17, only daughter of Asa and Pru- 
dence Williams. Asa Williams was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War, and was an early 
settler in Shutesbury, where he followed the 
trade of a shoemaker. He died in Shutes- 
bury, aged seventy-six; and his wife, who 
lived to the age of ninety, died at the home of 
her daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson had 
ten children, namely: Jane, Mary, and Wal- 
ter, who are deceased ; Marquis F., born July 
15, 1840, a lawyer of Boston; Sarah A., born 
October 8, 1848, the wife of F. L. Pope, an 



electrician of Great Barrington, Mass. ; Roxy 
E., born April 5, 185 1, wife of E. Holbrook, 
a shoe manufacturer of Holbrook, Mass.; Asa 
W., born October 24, 1853, a lawyer of Jersey 
City, N.J.; Walter M., born April 5, 1856, 
a Lieutenant in the United States Army, and 
for the past three years military instructor at 
the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 
Amherst; Julia A., born June 7, 1859, wife 
of the Rev. Charles S. Nickerson, a Univer- 
salis! preacher of Abington, Mass. ; and Han- 
nah F., born September 28, 1861, wife of 
Professor Joseph B. Lindsey, of the Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural College. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson are the oldest mar- 
ried couple in their neighborhood, and have 
celebrated both their silver and golden wed- 
dings. Mrs. Dickinson is a member of the 
Congregational church. 



M 



EACON SAMUEL SMITH, a well- 
to-do farmer of South Amherst, was 
born in Middlefield, Mass., August 
5, 1826, son of Samuel and Lucy (Metcalf) 
Smith. Mr. Smith's ancestors emigrated 
from England in 1634; and in the year 1700 
some of them settled in East Haddam, Conn., 
where their descendants still reside. Mr. 
Smith's grandfather, who served in the Revo- 
lutionary War, became one of the early set- 
tlers of Middlefield, Mass. He was a hard- 
working and successful man, and died there, 
over eighty years old. He raised a family of 
six children, of whom Samuel Smith, Sr., Mr. 
Smith's father, was the youngest. 

Samuel Smith, Sr., was born in Middlefield 
in 1797. He was reared to agricultural occu- 
pations, and succeeded to the ownership of his 
father's farm. He always resided in Middle- 
field, and was a prosperous farmer. In poli- 
tics he was originally a Whig, but was later 




WARREN E. TOWER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



identified with the Free Soil and antislavery 
parties. He was a member of the Baptist 
church. Samuel Smith, Sr. , died in Middle - 
field, aged eighty years. His wife, Lucy 
Metcalf, who was born in Middlefield in 1800, 
became the mother of nine children, all of 
whom lived to maturity: and six are now liv- 
ing. They were : Joseph, Ann, and Edward, 
who are now dead ; Lucy, Sarah, Samuel, 
John, Azariah, and Judson. The mother died 
at the age of fifty-nine. 

Samuel Smith, Jr., commenced his educa- 
tion in the schools of Middlefield, and com- 
pleted his studies with a year's course at the 
Williston Academy. At the age of twenty- 
two he settled upon a farm in Middlefield, 
consisting of one hundred and eighty acres, 
which he purchased entirely on credit. By 
diligently applying himself to the task he not 
only cleared it from debt in fifteen years, but 
also had some capital to spare. In 1867 he 
moved to South Amherst, and bought the farm 
of sixty acres where he now resides. He 
conducts general farming, in which he has 
been successful ; and, although he is nearly 
seventy years of age, he is still actively at- 
tending to his farm duties. He has well 
earned the prosperity he now enjoys. Politi- 
cally, he is independent, but his sympathies 
are with the Prohibition movement. 

In 1851 Mr. Smith was united in marriage 
to Mary Bliss. She was born in West Spring- 
field, Mass., January 17, 1827, daughter of 
Hosea and Mary (Bagg) Bliss. Hosea Bliss 
was born in West Springfield, December 28, 
1800, and married for his first wife Mary 
Bagg, who was born in West Springfield, 
April 14. 1802. She was the mother of four 
children, as follows: Huldah C. and Helen 
M., who are now dead; Malah E., wife of 
Noah Dickinson ; and Mary M., Mr. Smith's 
wife. Hosea Bliss died July 23, 1869. He 



attended the Congregational church. Mr. 
Smith's first wife died June 3, i860. He 
wedded for his second wife Martha Stone, who 
died in February, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
had three sons, namely: Hosea B., who re- 
sides in North Amherst; Percy L., a resident 
of the State of Wyoming; and Earnest B., 
who resides at home. Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
were members of the Baptist church, of which 
he has been a Deacon for over twenty years. 




AKREN E. TOWER, an enterpris- 
ing and thrifty farmer and one of 
the oldest and best-known residents 
of Cummington, Hampshire County, was born 
here on April 5, 1824. He is a son of War- 
ren and Rhoda (Tower) Tower, and is a repre- 
sentative of the seventh generation in direct 
descent from John Tower, a native of Hing- 
ham, England, who became a resident of 
Hingham, Mass., in 1637. The Tower 
genealogy is given in the recently published 
history of the latter town. 

Nathaniel Tower, the paternal grandfather 
of Warren E., was a native of Hingham, 
Mass. About 1780 he settled in Cumming- 
ton, which was his home thereafter; and here 
he became a successful farmer and large land- 
owner. He took a prominent part in town 
affairs, and served as a patriot soldier in the 
Revolutionary War. His death occurred in 
1 8 10, at sixty-five years of age; and his wife, 
Leah, who was born in Hingham, November 
14, 1747, died in January, 1847. They were 
the parents of four sons and two daughters; 
namely, Leah, Nathaniel, Peter, Ambrose, 
Roxy, and Warren. 

Warren Tower, son of Nathaniel, was born 
in Cummington on January 9, 1789, and in 
his boyhood received only limited educational 
advantages. He learned the trade of a carpen- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ter, and followed that trade in connection 
with farming. After living a short time on 
the place that he first purchased and which is 
now owned by Mr. Shipman, he sold it, and 
purchased the B. B. Lyman farm. He had 
got well started in farming on this place and 
in his carpenter work when he was taken ill, 
and died on May 26, 1834, at the age of forty- 
five years. His wife, Khoda Tower, was a 
daughter of Stephen and Anna (Bowker) 
Tower; and her natal day was November 26, 
1795. She bore her husband two sons ami 
four daughters, as follows: Salome, born Oc- 
tober 9, 1 8 1 7 ; Miriam, born January 5, 1819; 
Sabrina, born May 29, 1820; Elraina, bom 
October 6, 1822; Warren E. ; and Lorenzo 
H., born August 14, 1830. Mrs. Rhoda 
Tower died August 23, 1833. 

Being left an orphan when but nine years 
old, Warren E. Tower went to live with Mr. 
N. Minor on a farm, and remained there for 
four years. He afterward made his home suc- 
cessively with his brother-in-law, E. T. Bart- 
lett, and with Mr. Randall in the town of 
Windsor, Mass. While at the latter place, 
he worked at farming, and also learned the 
trade of a carpenter; but, having the misfort- 
une to lose one of his eyes by an accident, he 
was obliged to abandon his cherished plans, 
and consequently turned his attention from 
that time forward to agriculture. At twenty- 
six years of age he bought a farm of one hun- 
dred acres, the same now owned by H. 
Porter; and, after carrying it on for two years, 
he sold it, and bought another, on which he 
lived a few years. Selling the second piece 
of farming property, he purchased the place 
where he now resides, which contains sixty 
acres. This estate is known as the Rev. J. 
Briggs home and farm, having been first occu- 
pied by the clergyman of that name, who for 
forty-six years ministered to the spiritual 



needs of the people of Cummington as pastor 
of the Congregational church. One of the 
first churches and the largest ever erected in 
the town was built on this farm. The present 
dwelling-house, although erected over a cen- 
tury ago, is still in good condition. Mr. 
Tower has, however, made substantial improve- 
ments in all the buildings since he came into 
possession of the place. He keeps a dairy, and 
is successfully engaged in general farming. 

On November 27, 1852, he was joined in 
matrimony to Miss Agnes L. Lyman, a 
daughter of Benjamin Lyman. This union 
was blessed by the birth of a daughter, Edith 
M., born April 22, 1857, who married Alfred 
C. Stevens, and died September 11, 1894, 
leaving two children, Walter L. and Clara L., 
another child having died in infancy. Mrs. 
Agnes L. Tower died in the fifty-seventh 
year of her age. On January 10, 1893, Mr. 
Tower again married, his second wife being 
Miss Margaret Jane Lavery, a daughter of 
John M. and Catherine E. (Hosier) Lavery. 
Her father was born on the Scottish border- 
land. After his marriage in England he 
came with his wife to America, where he fol- 
lowed the vocations of a gardener and a stone 
mason. Margaret was but three years old at 
the time of her mother's death. Having 
grown to womanhood, she became a trained 
nurse, and followed this profession with suc- 
cess until her marriage. 

Mr. Tower is a Republican in political 
affiliation and a believer in Spiritualism. 
He is further represented in this volume by 
an excellent likeness, which appears on an- 
other page. 

KRY W. WARNER, Postmaster at 
,eeds and one of the substantial and 
progressive farmers of the district, 
I was born in Northampton, on the farm where 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



203 



he now resides, in the year 185S. The War- 
ners are of English extraction, the American 
progenitor having been William Warner, who 
emigrated to America in 1637, and located in 
the town of Ipswich, Mass., the subject of 
this sketch being a descendant in the eighth 
generation. 

Solomon Warner, grandfather of Henry W. 
Warner, was a son of Mark Warner, and was 
born at Northampton Centre, in the part then 
called "Black Pole," in 17S3. He was a 
practical agriculturist, and settled in 1S11 on 
..he farm of one hundred and fifty acres now 
owned by his grandson. The same year he 
erected the farm-house, and afterward from 
time to time he added to his tract of land 
until it eventually covered four hundred acres. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Allen, died 
in early life, leaving seven or eight children: 
one of whom was Moses Warner, the father of 
Henry W. He lived a widower for many 
years, and died in 1863. 

Moses Warner was born in 1 82 1 in the 
house now occupied by this son, and was en- 
gaged in agricultural work throughout his 
life. He married Susan Clark, a daughter of 
Sherman Clark, of Westhampton, their nup- 
tials having been celebrated in 1S41. Of 
their union three children have been born, as 
follows: Betsey A., who married Harry Leigh, 
of Connecticut, ami died in March, 18S7, 
aged thirty-three years, leaving two children: 
Henry \\\, the subject of this sketch; and 
Mary 1L, wife of George Blanchard, of Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

Henry W. Warner was reared on the pater- 
nal homestead; and, after completing his edu- 
cation at the Northampton schools, he worked 
at civil engineering as a railway surveyor. 
He followed that occupation in New England 
for two years, when he returned to his child- 
hood's home, where he has since lived. He- 



is a partner in the well-known firm of Hen- 
drick, Taylor & Warner, contractors of dams, 
water-works, roads, etc., who do a large busi- 
ness, and are at present building roads for the 
State of Massachusetts. He has been Post- 
master of Leeds for some time, and is now- 
serving his second term. 

On April 30, 1884, Mr. Warner was united 
in marriage with Leila Caillat, born at Wolf 
Creek, Ind., November S, 1S57. The cere- 
mony was performed in Indiana. The}' are 
the parents of two children: Burt C, a boy of 
ten years; and Esther, eight years old. Mr. 
Warner is a man of prominence in social, po- 
litical, and educational circles, and a leader 
in all enterprises tending to the advantage of 
his native city. He is a member of the Dem- 
ocratic part)-, has served his fellow-townsmen 
as Councilman for two years, and has been a 
member of the Board of Education for three 
years. He is a member of the Masonic frater- 
nity, being a Master Mason, and of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen. 




,OSWELL HALL ALLEN, a pro- 
gressive and successful farmer of 
Prescott and one of the oldest resi- 
dents of the town, having resided there since 
1828, was born in Wilbraham, Mass., March 
19, 1824. His parents were Roswell and 
Beulah (Chapin) Allen, the former a native 
of East Windsor, Conn., born January 2. 
1798, the latter of Enfield, Conn., born Oc- 
tober 13, 1796. The Allen family were for 
many years well and favorably known in the 
vicinity of Windsor, Conn. 

Mr. Allen's first ancestor in this country, 
Samuel Allen, who was born in Braintree, 
Essex County, England, came to America in 
1632, settling first in Cambridge, Mass., and 



204 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



later removing to Hartford, and then to Wind- 
sor, Conn. He died at the latter place, April 
28, 1648, at the age of sixty years. The 
grandfather of Roswell Hall Allen, who was 
also named Samuel, was born in East Wind- 
sor, June 16, 1764, and there spent his life, 
engaged in farming. He was an industrious 
and competent farmer, and attained a fair de- 
gree of prosperity. A boy of eleven when the 
Revolution commenced, he grew to manhood 
in the years when the Republic was in em- 
bryo, and became an ardent patriot, ready to 
do all in his power to protect the infant insti- 
tutions of his country. He died in Mast 
Windsor, October 11, 1S41. Samuel Allen 
was three times married. His first wife, 
Mary Allen, who was the grandmother of our 
subject, bore seven children: Samuel (first), 
Mary, Samuel (second), Harvey, Roswell, 
Cynthia, and Laura. His second wife, who 
was Azuba Moody, widow of Joseph Moody, 
was born January 5, 1765; and his third 
wife's name before marriage was Hannah 
Gleason. 

Roswell Allen, the father of Mr. Allen, 
left East Windsor in 1823, moving to Wilbra- 
ham, where he lived five years, engaged prin- 
cipally in general farming, and aided materi- 
ally in the building of the old Wilbraham 
Academy. In 1828 he moved to Prescott, 
and settled in the neighborhood of his son's 
present residence, purchasing first seventy 
acres of land, and afterward adding to this 
until he owned quite a large tract. Progres- 
sive in his views and enterprising in his 
methods of procedure, he soon took a leading 
place in the town, and filled various public 
offices. He represented the district in the 
General Court in 1839 aiK ' 1840, and was also 
Selectman, Overseer of the Poor, and Asses- 
sor. His political principles were at first 
those of a Whig, but later those of a Demo- 



crat. He was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church, and on religious subjects his 
opinions were broad and liberal. He died 
April 28, 1868, in Belchertown, where the 
last twenty-three years of his life were spent. 
His wife followed him to the grave nine 
years later, passing away May 16, 1877. 
They were the parents of eight children, 
namely: Roswell Hall, the subject of this 
article, who is the eldest; Persis C, born 
March 9, 1826, who died July 18, 1840; 
Samuel, born August 14, 1828, a farmer and 
surveyor of Belchertown; Cornelia B. (now 
Mrs. Cowle), born April 11, 1831, who re- 
sides in Milton; Diantha, born August 29, 
1833, wife of Robert Lyman, of Northampton; 
George, born February 16, 1836, who died 
May 9, 1857; Albert E., born February 27, 
1S39, a farmer in Longmeadow, Mass.; and 
Guy C, born April 27, 1S41, a farmer in 
Belchertown. 

Roswell Hall Allen, who was a boy of four 
years when his parents removed to Prescott, 
received his education in the schools of that 
town, and taught school for six terms. When 
twenty-two years of age, he hired out as a 
farm hand at twelve dollars a month, and at 
the end of a season of seven months had drawn 
but five dollars of his wages, reserving the 
rest to purchase land for a homestead. In 
this way he worked until 1852, when he made 
his first purchase, consisting of seventy acres, 
the nucleus of the farm in Prescott on which 
he now resides. To this he has since added, 
and in all he is owner of two hundred acres of 
good land. Mr. Allen has worked hard and 
long to attain the prosperity which he now en- 
joys; and the well-kept buildings and flourish- 
ing condition of the farm, which is one of the 
best in the town, silently witness to the thrift 
anil enterprise of the owner. 

Mr. Allen was twice married. The first 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



205 



occasion was on April 5, 1848, when Sarah C 
Hyde, of Prescott, became his wife. She was 
born in that town, February 18, 1825, and 
was a daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Child) 
Hyde. Andrew Hyde, who was born in Pel- 
ham, Mass., November 3, 1790, lived in Pel- 
ham when the town was new, and worked at 
shoemaking. He died there, December 2, 
1854. His wife, who was born in Roxbury, 
Mass., November 23, 1795, died June 4, 

1 847. They were the parents of four chil- 
dren, namely: Sarah C, the wife of Mr. 
Allen: Martha A., born December 5, 1827; 
Andrew, born February 16, 1829; and Mary 
E., born December 28, 1830. An adopted 
son, Andrew O., who was born February 2. 
1842, died in Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, dur- 
ing the late war. Mrs. Allen died February 
10, 1861. She was the mother of the follow- 
ing children: George F., born December 12, 

1848, a farmer in Prescott; a daughter, born 
February 13, 1850, who died in infancy: 
Calvin C, born February 21, 1851, who died 
thirteen months after birth: Mary E., born 
August 11, 1853, who died January 16, 1867; 
Edward H., born August 21, 1855, a farmer, 
who died April 6, 1893; Delia P., born De- 
cember 24, 1856, who is living with her 
father; Sarah P., born November 7, 1858, 
who died February 28, 1S74; an ^ Franklin 
R., born August 16, i860, a graduate of Am- 
herst in the class of i882, # and now a lawyer 
by profession and District Attornev in Minne- 
sota. Mr. Allen's second marriage took place 
August 28, 1 86 1, when he was united to Me- 
linda Shaw, of Prescott, who was born in New 
Salem, April 10, 1817. 

Mr. Allen votes with the Republican party, 
and has been Selectman, Assessor, and Over- 
seer of the Poor. In religious work he is 
also active, and is a prominent member of the 
Congregational church. He and his wife, 



both being over seventy years of age, are 
counted among the oldest residents of the 
town. He still engages in farm work, and in 
it displays remarkable activity. 




USTIN HUNTER, a progressive farmer 
and a well-known resident of Green- 
wich, was born in Enfield, Decem- 
ber 22, 1823, son of Amos and Abigail 
(Marsh) Hunter. Mr. Hunter's grandparents 
were Isaac and Catherine (Dix) Hunter, the 
former of whom came from Leicester, Mass., 
and settled upon a farm in the northern part 
of Enfield. He was an industrious and suc- 
cessful farmer, ami resided in Enfield until 
his death, which occurred August 4, 1821. 
He was a Democrat in politics. His wife 
became the mother of eleven children, eight 
sons and three daughters, all of whom reached 
maturity. She died in .August, 1803. 

Amos Hunter, Mr. Hunter's father, was 
born November 28, 1778, and in his early 
manhood followed the occupation of a tanner. 
He later engaged in agriculture in Enfield, 
owning a farm of one hundred acres, which 
he conducted prosperously. The latter years 
of his life were passed in Greenwich, where 
he died at the age of eighty-six years. His 
wife, Abigail Marsh before marriage, who was 
born June 6, 1782, became the mother of 
eleven children, ten of whom grew to matu- 
rity. Six are now living, namely: Paulina 
C, widow of Thomas Conkey, born October 
3, 1S04, now the oldest resilient in Green- 
wich, residing with Mr. Hunter; Amos, who 
resides in Enfield; David, who occupies the 
old homestead in Enfield; Charles, who re- 
sides in Belchertown; Austin, the subject of 
this sketch; and Abbie, widow of Elisha 
Moody, of South Hadley. Those deceased 
were : Shepherd, Elbridge, Thomas, Lorency, 



2 06 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and Moriva. The last named died in infancy. 
The mother lived to the age of eighty-five 
years. 

Austin Hunter grew to manhood in Enfield, 
and received his education in the schools of 
that town. He resided at home until he 
reached the age of twenty-one, when he en- 
gaged as a farm assistant with Thomas Conkey 
for the compensation of twelve dollars per 
month, fie continued in this employment 
for some ten years, after which Mr. Conkey, 
in consideration of being supported by him 
during the rest of his life, gave him the farm, 
situated in the town of Prescott, where he 
resided until April, 1864, when he acquired 
his present farm in Greenwich. He has en- 
larged his property, which originally consisted 
of one hundred and sixty acres, by the addi- 
tion of adjoining land ; and he now owns an 
exceedingly productive and well-located farm 
of two hundred and fifty acres. He conducts 
general farming in a practical and progressive 
manner, being well acquainted with the im- 
proved methods of agriculture. His residence 
and other buildings, which were substantially 
constructed, are kept in the best of repair. 
In politics Mr. Hunter is a Republican, and 
was formerly identified with public affairs for 
some years. He served with ability as a 
member of the Board of Selectmen, and also 
held other official positions. 

On April 20, 1859, Mr. Hunter was united 
in marriage to Mary L. Smith. She was born 
in Pelham, Mass., October 27, 1834, daughter 
of Job and Martha (Conkey) Smith, both of 
whom were natives of Pelham. Job Smith 
was a prosperous farmer during his entire life, 
and he lived to the age of sixty-four. He 
raised a family of four children, as follows: 
Mary L., who is now Mrs. Hunter; Hannah, 
who is now Mrs. Horr, of Pelham; Laura, 
now Mrs. Boynton, of Pelham; and Mehita- 



ble, who became Mrs. Sanborn, and died in 
Westfield, December 6, 1892. The mother 
died aged sixty-three years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hunter have nine children, 
namely: Alice M., who was born April 30, 
i860; Mary, born October 31, 1861; Elmer 
A., born June 20, 1863; Walter L., born July 
22, 1865; Myron A., born April 7, 1867: 
Edward M., born October 19, 1869; David 
M., born March 13, 1871; Harry E. and 
Henry E., twins, born March 23, 1877. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hunter are old and highly 
esteemed residents of Greenwich, and she is a 
member of the Congregational church. Mr. 
Hunter has lived a busy and useful life, and 
is passing his declining years in comparative 
ease and comfort. 



KRANCIS L. HATCH, of Huntington, 
a retired merchant and manufacturer, 
was born in Worthington, Mass., April 
3, 1832, son of William and Abigail (Leon- 
ard ) Hatch. 

Mr. Hatch's father was a lifelong resident 
of Worthington, and was born in 1797. He 
followed the trade of a mechanic, and also en- 
gaged in agriculture with much success. He 
was originally a Democrat in politics, but 
later he joined the Whig party. In his relig- 
ious opinions he was a Congregationalist, and 
for many years led the singing in that church 
in Worthington. He possessed many ster- 
ling qualities, and was highly esteemed by his 
fellow-townsmen as an intelligent and use- 
ful citizen. William Hatch was accidentally 
killed in November, 1843. His wife, Abigail 
Leonard in maidenhood, who was born in 
Worthington in 1802, became the mother of 
twelve children, as follows: Fordyce E., born 
in October, 1822; Almond, born April 5, 
1824; Martha A., born March 14, 1826; El- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



207 



mira L., born April 5, 1828; Royal F., born 
April 18, 1830; Francis L., the subject of 
this sketch; Louisa H., born October 6, 
1834; Rosalia M., born April 5, 1837; Carlos 
\Y. and Caroline A., twins, born April ig, 
1839; Ellen S., born in June, 1841; and 
Anna S., born in May. 1844. The mother 
died in March, 1894, aged ninety-two years. 
Francis L. Match began life for himself at 
the age of seventeen, when he took charge of 
the finishing department of a basket factory 
in Knightsville. After following that occu- 
pation for a year, he engaged in the manufact- 
ure of wooden bowls upon his own account. 
Failing health then caused him to suspend ac- 
tive labor for two years, and after his recovery 
he engaged in the manufacture of carriages 
and sleighs. In 1856 he went to New York 
City, where he was employed as a clerk in a 
hardware store for several months. He then 
went to Oneida, N.Y., where he established 
himself in the grocery business. At the ex- 
piration of a year he was again taken ill; 
and, disposing of his investment, he returned 
to Huntington. He resumed his connection 
with the carriage business, and continued in 
that employment until i860, when he became 
a clerk in New York City. In 1863, in com- 
pany with his brother, he purchased the busi- 
ness in which he was employed, and engaged 
in the hardware trade, dealing in stoves and 
tinware, etc. The firm became extensive 
manufacturers of shipping and milk cans, and 
conducted a successful business until Novem- 
ber, 1894, when the feeble condition of his 
health compelled Mr. Hatch to permanently 
retire. Having disposed of his business in 
the metropolis, he once more returned to Hun- 
tington for the purpose of settling there per- 
manently; and in February, 1895, he pur- 
chased his present farm in Norwich, where he- 
is now engaged in farming. He was formerly 



a Republican in politics, but at present votes 
with the Democratic party. He has been a 
successful business man, and is now enjoying 
a well-earned rest from the cares of business 
lite. 

Mr. Hatch has been three times married. 
His first wife, whom he wedded on March 9, 
1853, was Ellen F. Randall. She was born 
in Huntington, March 9, 1836. and had one 
child, who died in infancy. She died July 
29, 1856. On September 9, 1859, Mr - Hatch 
was united in marriage to Mary J. Coit. who 
was bom in Huntington, October [9, 1838. 
She became the mother of four children, as 
follows: Foster L., who married Jane 1 ■'. 
Cherry, and is engaged in mercantile business 
in Newark, N.J. ; Frank L., who married 
Carrie York, and is employed in the office of 
the United States Express Company in New- 
ark : Mabel \\'., wife of J. Vreeland Harring, 
a draughtsman of Newark; and Maria, who 
died at the age of eighteen months. The 
mother died March 16, 1878. Mr. Hatch 
then wedded Ella Hayden, who was born in 
Huntington, November 19, 1S45. By this 
union he has two children; namely, Ellen A. 
and Jennie B. Mrs. Hatch is a member of 
the Dutch Reformed church of Newark, N.J. 




RANK W. CARY, junior member of 

the firm of Kimball & Cary, dealers in 
coal, at Northampton, came here at the 
suggestion of his partner, Mayor II. A. Kim- 
ball, to engage in his present business, he and 
Mr. Kimball having been reared on adjoining 
farms, pupils in the same school, and later 
entering respectively into the relations of 
pupil and teacher. The friendship thus 
formed in early youth has continued without 
break to the present time, and has resulted in 
the establishment of this prosperous firm. 



2 08 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Cary is a native of Connecticut, born in 
the town of Windham in 1850, a son of 
Dvvight and Susan (Bass) Cary. 

Sanford Cary, the paternal grandfather of 
Frank W., was a lifelong resident of Wind- 
ham, and owned a good farm. He was a Se- 
lectman of the town for many years, and also 
represented the district in the legislature. 
He died in the year 1856, leaving a substan- 
tial farm property. His wife,. whose maiden 
name was Caroline Tracy, survived him about 
ten years, leaving at her death three sons and 
a daughter, all of whom are living except the 
daughter. 

Dwight Cary, son of Sanford, had a thor- 
ough knowledge of agriculture, and owns one 
of the best-managed farms in Windham 
County. In 1843 he married Susan Bass, of 
Scotland, Conn., the daughter of the late John 
Bass; and they became the parents of a large 
family of children. Of these, four are de- 
ceased, namely: two daughters, twins, who 
had lived eighteen months; Sanford, who 
had lived five years; and Ann B., who mar- 
ried George E. Wood, and was forty-two years 
old at the time of her death, in 1890. Those 
living are as follows: Rosella, wife of Joseph 
Congdon, residing in Hampton, Conn. ; 
Frank W., the subject of this sketch; Jane, 
wife of Arthur Clark, of Scotland, Conn. ; 
George, a farmer on the old homestead ; and 
Susan, wife of Charles Willis, of Scotland, 
Conn. The parents are hale and vigorous 
people for their years. The father has served 
as Selectman, and has represented his district 
in the legislature. 

Frank W. Cary was reared to farm life, re- 
ceiving a practical education, and might have 
taken a collegiate course had he then appreci- 
ated its importance. He, however, continued 
in the occupation to which he was reared until 
nearly thirty years old. He came to North- 



ampton, May 10, 1 88 1, to engage in the coal 
and wood trade, as before mentioned. The 
firm conducts a wholesale and retail business. 
Under the wise management of the partners it 
has become quite large and remunerative. 
Mr. Cary belongs to the Knights Templars, 
and is a valued member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. He is a zealous sup- 
porter of the Republican party, but steadily 
refuses office. 

Mr. Cary was united in wedlock February 
10, 1875, to Efne Fuller, a native of Brook- 
lyn, Conn., daughter of Edwin T. and Louisa 
(Snow) Fuller. Her mother died in 1853, 
aged forty-three years, having borne her hus- 
band five children, two of whom are deceased. 
Mr. Fuller subsequently married Sarah Par- 
sons, who bore him two children. She has 
survived him, being now a resident of Plain- 
field, Conn., where his death occurred in May, 
1894, at the venerable age of fourscore years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Cary have lost one infant daugh- 
ter. They have three children living, 
namely: Irving L., nineteen years of age, a 
graduate of Child's Business College, and now 
in the Northampton Savings Bank; Edwin 
T., fifteen years of age; and Freddie D., nine 
years old. Mr. and Mrs. Cary are much es- 
teemed for their many admirable qualities. 
They have a pleasant home at 154 State 
Street, erected in 1886, where their many 
friends are hospitably welcomed. In their 
religious belief they are members of the Con- 
gregational church. 



4 




RRIN E. LIVERMORE, of North- 
ampton, a carpenter, contractor, and 
builder, whose portrait is now before 
the reader, is among the foremost men in his 
line of business in this part of Hampshire 
County. He owns and occupies the property 




O. E. L1VERM0RE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



at 103 West Street, which he bought in 1871, 
having rebuilt the house six years later in its 
present modern style. Mr. Livermore is a 
native of Berkshire County, born November 
28, 1837, in Hinsdale, son of Chester Liver- 
more. His father was born in Shutesbury, 
Mass., March 28, 1809, and was a son of 
Elijah Livermore, who was born and reared 
in Leicester, Mass., but afterward removed 
to Shutesbury, where he engaged in general 
farming. Grandfather Livermore reared a 
family of eight children, five sons anil three 
daughters, none of whom are now living. 

Chester Livermore learned the carpenter's 
trade when a young man, and, removing to 
Hinsdale, there followed carpentering for 
fourteen years, when he changed his occupa- 
tion to farming, which he carried on in the 
towns of Worthington and Peru for several 
years. In 1 S3 5 he married Betsey Pratt, of 
Shutesbury, and they had a family of five 
children, namely: Orrin E., of Northampton; 
David E., an unmarried man; .Adeline M., 
wife of Andrew S. Cook, a wood-turner, of 
Springfield; Frances L., wife of Edwin Ski 1 1 - 
ings, of East Bridgewater, Mass. ; and Ma- 
rinda, who died in infancy. The father died 
in 1864, the mother in 1870. 

Orrin E. Livermore was reared on the home 
farm, and, after receiving an academic educa- 
tion, taught school one term. In 1863 he 
came to Northampton, having secured work 
with Moses Breck, by whom he was employed 
nine years, after which he succeeded to his 
well-established business. Some of the most 
elegant and substantial buildings of the city 
have been erected by Mr. Livermore, among 
the principal public ones being the Hamp- 
shire County bank, McCallum's store, the 
Northampton Institution for Savings, Lilly 
Hall, the art gallery, and the annex to the 
main building of Smith College, and the Hat- 



field and Washburn houses that are connected 
with the college; and among the fine resi- 
dences those of Messrs. McCallum, Crook, 
Porter, H. A. Kimball, and Professor H. M. 
Tyler. 

Elizabeth W. Ferguson, who became the 
wife of Mr. Livermore on April 3, 1861, was 
born in Newark, N.V., but was reared in 
Hinsdale, Mass., her parents, the late Selden 
K. ami Margaret (Stowell) Ferguson, having 
died in early life. She was one of three 
young children who were left orphans, her 
brothers being Myron Ferguson, of Harris- 
burg, Pa., and Charles Stowell, who was 
adopted by his uncle, Marshall Stowell, a 
farmer in Peru. Of the children of Mr. and 
Mrs. Livermore two daughters and one son 
have passed to the brightness of the eternal 
life, the daughters dying in infancy, and the 
son, Ernest Howard, when nineteen years old. 
He was a young man of great promise, a fine 
scholar, and for one and one-half years was a 
clerk in the post-office, under Mr. Campbell. 
Although dead, 

•• their silent ministry 
Within our hearts has place. 
As when mi earth they walked with us. 
And met us f.u e ti> fai e." 

The remaining children are: Minnie, wife of 
John W. Draper; Alma B., a talented young 
musician, pursuing her studies under Profes- 
sor Greene, taking lessons in voice culture 
and on the piano, having developed a remark- 
able taste and talent for that instrument when 
a child of three years; and Carleton, a win- 
ning little fellow of two years. 

Mr. Livermore is a public-spirited citizen 
of Northampton, ever evincing a genuine in- 
terest in all things pertaining to the general 
welfare and advancement. He is a promi- 
nent member of the Republican ranks, and has 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




served in the Common Council three years, 
having been president one year and an Alder- 
man two years. He is a Master Mason and 
an active member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, having passed all the chairs up 
to and including that of the Canton. Relig- 
iously, he is an esteemed member of the Bap- 
tist church, in which he has served as Deacon 
for twenty-three years, and for the past eigh- 
teen years has been superintendent of its Sun- 
day-school. 

« •»» » ■ 

USTIN D. BATES, a prosperous 
farmer and business man of Cum- 
mington, was born in that town, 
March 20, 1837, son of Dorrance and Hannah 
(Damon) Bates. Mr. Bates's great-grandpar- 
ents were Nehemiah and Mehitable (Marble) 
Bates. 

Nehemiah Bates was born in Abington, 
Mass., in 1740. He moved from Abington 
to Chesterfield, Mass., where he settled upon 
the farm which is now owned by H. Bates, 
and followed agriculture successfully until his 
death, which occurred at a good old age. His 
children were: Joel, Mehitable, Nathaniel, 
Ephraim, Asa, Levi, Elijah, Mehitable (sec- 
ond), Gersham, Solomon, and Ruth. Levi 
Bates, grandfather of Austin D. Bates, was 
born in Abington, September 9, 1 77 1 . He 
learned the trade of a carpenter, and settled 
in Cummington, upon the farm which is now 
occupied by I'. Bates. He became a prosper- 
ous farmer, owning one hundred and thirty 
acres of land, and died aged thirty years. He 
was a Whig in politics and a Baptist in his 
religious creed. Levi Bates married Lorina 
Hersey, who was born March 5, 1775; and 
they had eight children, as follows: Malensa, 
Levi, Dorrance, Melinda, Lucinda, Lucretia, 
Phidelia, ami Philander. The mother died 
April 26, 1849. 



Dorrance Bates, Mr. Bates's father, was 
born in Cummington, January 25, 1803, and, 
when a young man, acquired the carpenter's 
trade, which he followed as an occupation. 
He first settled upon two acres of land, but 
later he purchased the adjoining property, 
which was known as the E. Culver homestead, 
consisting of one hundred acres ; and here he 
resided until his death. He died aged forty- 
nine years. His wife, Hannah (Damon) Bates, 
who was born in 18 12, became the mother of 
five children: Finley V. ; Austin D. ; Hollis- 
ter, who died young; Osmyn ; and Hollister, 
second. She died at the age of seventy-nine. 

Austin D. Bates was reared to agriculture, 
and succeeded to the possession of the old 
homestead by purchasing the interests of the 
other heirs. At the age of eighteen he com- 
menced teaming in a small way upon a route 
which included the city of Northampton and 
the towns of Huntington, Dalton, and Adams; 
and this undertaking later developed into an 
extensive business. He also engaged in the 
sale of feed, grain, flour, and fertilizer, which 
he buys by the carload; and in this branch of 
trade he has also become successful. He has 
added thirty acres to his farm, keeps ten 
choice cows, has enlarged his resilience, and 
remodelled his other farm buildings. The 
property is situated near the Hillside agri- 
cultural grounds; and during the annual fair 
he provides dinners for a large number of 
people and provender for quite a number of 
horses. He also owns an interest in the 
creamery. 

On November 27, 1S62, Mr. Bates was 
united in marriage to Sarah D. Brewster, 
daughter of Andrew and Phoebe (Sherman) 
Brewster. Mr. and Mrs. Bates have one son, 
named Herbert A., who was born October 7, 
1871, and is now in business with his father. 
Mr. Bates is a Republican in politics; and, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



-'3 



although frequently requested to serve in town 
offices, he has always declined, as his busi- 
ness requires his entire time and energy. 



M 



ANIEL 11. GOULD, a prominent 
resident and a Selectman of Plain- 
field, was born in Charlemont. 
Mass., November 23, 1837, son of Aaron and 
Lucinda (Albee) Gould. Mr. Gould's father 
was a native of Heath, Mass., and in his 
early manhood learned the trade of a black- 
smith. He settled in Charlemont, where for 
some years he followed his trade in connec- 
tion with farming. He later resided in Haw- 
ley and Buckland, having been employed at 
farm work in both places. He was originally 
a Whig in politics and later a Republican, 
lie died at the age of eighty-one years. His 
wife was born in Pelham, Mass., daughter of 
Laban Albee. She became the mother of 
seven children, all of whom are now living. 
They are: Lemuel, Wilson, Daniel H., Gil- 
bert A., Joanna R., Mary A., and Luther E. 
She died aged seventy-three years. Mr. 
Gould's parents were Adventists in religious 
belief. 

Daniel H. Gould resided at home, and as- 
sisted his father in carrying on the farm until 
his majority, when he purchased one hundred 
and twelve acres of land in the town of Haw- 
ley. After conducting that farm for eight 
years, he sold it, and bought another, contain- 
ing one hundred and seventy-five acres. This 
also he sold, and it is now the property of D. 
Ingraham. He then bought the Alford farm 
of one hundred and twelve acres, which he 
still retains. In 1885 he moved to Plainfield, 
and bought the place of Colonel Richards, 
containing seven acres of land. He also pur- 
chased L. Campbell's blacksmith shop, which 
he has since conducted successfully. Besides 



the blacksmith business, he now manufact- 
ures and repairs wagons, sleighs, and other 
conveyances. More recently he bought the 
Hallock farm, which consists of seven acres of 
meadow land. Mr. Gould is a Republican in 
politics, and is active in public affairs. He- 
is a Constable of Plainfield, has been a mem- 
ber of the Board of Selectmen for the past five 
years, and served on the School Committee- 
while living in Hawley. 

On March 24, 1858, Mr. Gould was united 
in marriage to Maria Sprague, daughter of 
Rufus Sprague. Mr. and Mrs. Gould have 
two children, namely: Carrie E., born in 
April, 1862, who was married to John King, 
and died August 10, 1886, leaving one daugh- 
ter, named Anna; and Clark F., born in 
1864, who resides at home. 



Tq^EWTON SMITH, an extensive dairy 
farmer and a lifelong resident of 

- x^ South Hadley Falls, was born 
where he now resides, December 2, 1837, son 
of Philip and Sarah (Smith) Smith. Mr. 
Smith's father was born in South Hadley 
Falls, and followed agriculture as an occupa- 
tion all of his life. In early manhood he set- 
tled upon the farm which is now owned and 
occupied by his son, and resided there until 
his death, which occurred in 1868, at the age 
of seventy-two years. He was a successful 
farmer and a highly respected citizen. His 
wife, who was a native of Leverett, Mass., 
became the mother of three children, as fol- 
lows: Sarah, who died in 1S66; Newton, the 
subject of this sketch; and Philip Henderson, 
who married Frances J. Butterfield, and re- 
sided with Mr. Smith. Philip Henderson 
Smith was formerly an architect, and resided 
in the vicinity of Boston. 

Newton Smith was educated in the schools 



214 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of South Hadlev Falls. At an early age he 
commenced to assist his father upon the farm, 
and rapidly attained proficiency in all 
branches of agriculture. At the age of 
twenty-six he was placed in charge of the 
farm, and has since managed it with success. 
He has made numerous improvements, adding 
materially to the value of the property, which 
consists of one hundred and fifty-five acres, 
one hundred and fifteen acres being under per- 
fect cultivation. He conducts one of the 
largest dairies in Hampshire County, keeps a 
herd of one hundred and twenty cattle, and 
eleven horses. He is the owner of three large 
milk routes — two in Holyoke and one in 
South Hadley Falls — which are the source of 
considerable profit. 

Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics, and 
has served three years as a Selectman. He is 
a member of the Congregational church. 




RVIS F. BIGELOW, M.D., a promi- 
nent physician of Amherst, was born 
in Perkinsville, town of Weathers- 
field, Windsor County, Vt., September I, 
1835, son °f Barnay and Joanna (Nichols) 
Bigelow. Dr. Bigelow is a descendant of 
lohn Bigelow, who was born in England in 
1616, and settled in Watertown, Mass., in 
1632. 

Dr. Bigelow's great-grandparents were 
Solomon and Sarah (Newton) Bigelow, who 
were residents of Shrewsbury, Mass. His 
grandfather, Silas Bigelow, was born in 
Shrewsbury, December 24, 1766. He became 
an early settler in Perkinsville, Vt., where 
he followed agriculture the greater part of his 
life, and was classed among the most success- 
ful farmers of his day. He was a sturdy and 
industrious man and a useful citizen. He 
died in Perkinsville, aged sixty-six years. 



He was a member of the Baptist church. His 
family of six children all grew to maturity; 
and of these Barnay Bigelow, Dr. Bigelow's 
father, was the eldest. 

Deacon Barnay Bigelow was born in Per- 
kinsville in 1794. He adopted agriculture as 
an occupation, which he followed successfully 
through life, and, after succeeding to the pos- 
session of his father's farm, resided there 
until his death. He was a Whig in politics, 
and was active in town affairs. In his relig- 
ious belief he was a Baptist, and was a Dea- 
con of that church. Barnay Bigelow died in 
Perkinsville in 1858. His wife, Joanna 
Nichols before marriage, who was born in 
Perkinsville in 1796, became the mother of 
five children, as follows: Pharcellus K., who 
now resides in Antioch, Cal. ; Carlton B., of 
Springfield, Mass.; Orvis F. , the subject of 
this sketch; Adoniram, who died aged seventy 
years; and Elizabeth, who died aged twenty 
years. The mother died in 1876. 

Orvis F. Bigelow passed his boyhood in as- 
sisting his father upon the farm. He com- 
menced his education in the schools of his 
native town; and at the age of eighteen he 
attended the New Hampton Institute in Fair- 
fax, Vt., where he prepared for his collegiate 
course. He then entered the University of 
Vermont in Burlington, where he studied a 
thorough course of medicine, and graduated 
with the class of 1862. He began the prac- 
tice of his profession the same year in Bran- 
don, Vt. ; and, after residing there for three 
years, he came to Amherst, where he has since 
conducted a large and lucrative practice. 

Dr. Bigelow is at the present time the old- 
est medical practitioner in Amherst. He is 
skilful and reliable, and possesses the esteem 
and confidence of the general public. He is 
a Republican in politics. 

On July 8, 1863, Dr. Bigelow was united 




STEPHEN P. BAILEY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REYIKYV 



2 1 7 



in marriage to Mary Pingry, daughter of 
William M. Pingry, of Weathersfield, Vt. 

Dr. and Mrs. Bigelow had six children, as 
follows: Jessie E., born August 20, 1864; 
William P., born March 29, 1867; Frank B., 
born February 7, [869; Lucy M.. bum July 
14, 1872; Fred C. born June 30, 1875; and 
Edward Rutherford, born February 18, 1877, 
who died January 14, 1894. Dr. Bigelow is 
a member of the State and Hampshire Dis- 
trict Medical Societies, and both he and his 
wife are members of the Baptist church. 




•TEPHEN P. BAILEY, a leading 
citizen of Greenwich, who for over 
seventy years has been a resident of 
this beautiful valley town, and up to within a 
lew years was actively identified with its 
farming and lumbering interests, was born in 
Worcester, Mass., February 13, 1818. He is 
the son of Eber W. and Elizabeth (Powers) 
Bailey and grandson of John and Bethiah 
(Blackmer) Bailey, all natives of Massachu- 
setts. His grandfather, John Bailey, settled 
in the northern part of Greenwich over one 
hundred years ago, and lived to be eighty-six 
years of age. A sturdy farmer, accustomed 
to hard labor, he was a public-spirited man, 
endowed with the courage of his convictions, 
and joined the patriot ranks at the time of the 
Revolution. He filled for some time the 
office of Sheriff. His wife, Bethiah Black- 
mer, who was a native of Belchertown, was an 
esteemed member of the Congregational 
church, to which he also belonged. They 
had but three children: Eber W. ; Esther, 
who never married; and one child who died 
in infancv. 

Eber W. Bailey was born in Holden, Mass., 
and in early manhood was a coachman in the 
service of the Waldorf family in Worcester, 



but subsequently settled on a farm in Green- 
wich, devoting the rest of his life to agricult- 
ure. He was a progressive and successful 
man, and attained a fair degree of prosperity. 
In political matters he took an active inter- 
est, and was first a Whig, then an ardent Free 
Soiler, and later a Republican. He was a 
church member also, belonging to the Con- 
gregational Society of the town. He died in 
1865, at the age of seventy-five. His wife, 
who was a native of Prescott, Mass., died in 
her seventieth year, in December, 1856. 
They had five children, all of whom grew to 
maturity, and two of whom are now living: 
Stephen P., the subject of this sketch; and 
Sophronia R., wife of T. P. Root, of Barre, 
Mass. Those who died were named respec- 
tively: Eber O., Adaline E., and Mary A. 

Stephen P. Bailey was six years of age when 
his parents removed to Greenwich. He re- 
ceived a good common-school education, and 
on starting to earn a livelihood gave his at- 
tention to farming, buying his first land in 
Greenwich man}- years ago. He subsequently 
was engaged in the lumber business, manu- 
facturing all kinds of building material and 
also box lumber, and for thirty years was a 
leader in that industry. Within a few years 
he retired from active business pursuits, and 
is now engaged in looking after his extensive 
real estate interests, owning to-day more land 
than any other man in the town, and being 
the largest tax-payer. 

The town of Greenwich, of which Mr. 
Bailey is so prominent a citizen, ami whose 
prosperity he has done much to promote, is 
one of the most beautiful parts of the count}-. 
It contains two villages, Greenwich and 
Greenwich Plains. Among the most promi- 
nent and picturesque features of the land- 
scape are the twin peaks, Mount Lizzie and 
Mount Pomeroy, both rising abruptly from a 



2l8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



level plain, imperishable monuments of the 
mighty forces of nature. Both have their 
Indian traditions, as romantic and poetical as 
those which envelop the ruined castles and 
ancient battle-grounds of the Old World. 
Miniature lakes of great beauty, whose banks 
are dotted with cosey summer cottages, reflect 
from their placid waters the ever-changing 
glories of flying cloud and deep ethereal blue. 
Such scenes of rural quiet could not remain 
long hidden from weary toilers in search of 
rest and recreation, and accordingly ample ac- 
commodations for the temporal and spiritual 
comfort of summer visitors may be found in 
the well-kept and commodious hotels — one in 
each village — and in the different denomina- 
tional places of worship; and good schools, 
also, are not lacking for the benefit of the 
younger generation of the native inhabitants. 
The fact that the town is out of debt and has 
a surplus in the treasury is convincing proof 
of good financial management on the part of 
its leading citizens; and the good roads and 
bridges and other useful and necessary public 
works show that they are men of enterprise 
and action, and are worthily representative of 
the best New England traditions. 

June 24, 1852, Mr. Bailey was united in 
marriage with Lydia A. Haskell, a native of 
New Salem, who died October 4, 1857; and 
■ >n April 23, 1863, he was married to his sec- 
ond wife, Mrs. Abbie L. (Snow) Wetherell, 
a native of West Brookfield. After a wedded 
life of thirty-one years Mrs. Abbie I,. Bailey 
was called to her long rest, August 14, 1894. 
Mr. Bailey has no children. He is a stanch 
Republican, and takes an active interest in 
tin- public welfare. In the legislature of 
1880 he represented the Fifth Hampshire 
District, which includes Enfield, Belcher- 
town, Ware, Greenwich, and Granby; and he 
has served for some years as Selectman of 



Greenwich. He aided financially in the 
building of the Athol & Enfield Railroad. 
Mr. Bailey is very active for a man of his 
age, and is still a leader in the public affairs 
of Greenwich Village, where he has resided 
since 1852. On the subject of religion his 
views are liberal. 




ENRV S. SHIPMAN, a general mer- 
chant of Hadley, was born in that 
town, November 18, 185 1, son of 
William S. and Catherine (Gaylord) Ship- 
man. Mr. Shipman's grandparents were 
William and Betsey (Smith) Shipman, both 
of whom were natives of Hadley, where they 
passed their entire lives. 

William S. Shipman, Mr. Shipman's 
father, was born in Hadley, November 28, 
1 812. In early manhood he engaged in the 
manufacture of brooms, later giving his atten- 
tion to farming and the cultivation of tobacco. 
He finally established himself in mercantile 
business in Hadley, and followed that suc- 
cessfully for the remainder of his life. He 
became prominent in public affairs, and was 
elected Town Treasurer in 1853, Town Clerk 
in 1854, and Postmaster in July, 1867, and 
satisfactorily attended to the duties of these 
offices until his death, which occurred Novem- 
ber 26, 1881. William S. Shipman's wife, 
who was born in Hadley, December 5, 1S14, 
was a daughter of Israel G. and Susan (Smith) 
Gaylord. Her parents were natives of Had- 
ley, where they resided until their death. 
Mrs. William S. Shipman became the mother 
of four children, as follows: James A., who 
died January 23, 1841 ; William N., who died 
February 13, 1872; Charles E., a merchant of 
Northampton; and Henry S., the subject of 
this sketch. 

Henry S. Shipman was educated in the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



:mi 



schools of Hadley, and resided with his par- 
ents until he reached the age of twenty-one, 
when he commenced life lor himself. lie en- 
gaged in agriculture, which he continued to 
follow until his father's death. Since 1S81 
he has conducted the business formerly car- 
ried on by his father — that of a general coun- 
try merchant — and has been' very successful, 
lie is a Republican in politics, is a Justice 
of the Peace, was Postmaster from 1 88 i until 
1893, and was elected Town Clerk and 
Treasurer in the same year, which last two 
offices he still holds. Mr. Shipman was ini- 
tiated in the Masonic Order at Northampton 
in 18S4. Mrs. Shipman is a member of the 
Congregational church. 

On November 18, 1872, Mr. Shipman was 
united in marriage to Jennie W. Morton, who 
was born in Hadley, August 5, 1855, daugh- 
ter of the Hon. John A. and Sophronia 
(Thayer) Morton. John A. Morton was a na- 
tive of Ware, came to Hadley at an early day, 
and resided in that town until his death. He 
became one of the largest farmers in Hamp- 
shire County, and represented his district in 
the legislature during the years 1845 and 
[846, and died December 27, 187S. His 
wife, who was a native of Enfield, Mass., died 
in Hadley, November 20, 188S. Mr. and 
Mrs. Shipman had three children, namely: 
William A., born March 27, 1874, who died 
September 2 of the same year; Mabel L., 
born January 6, 1876, now a school-teacher in 
Hadley; and Grace N., born January 7, 1883. 



(WZo 



EORGE G. HITCHCOCK, M.D., 
VrI a leading physician of the homoeo- 
pathic school of medicine, residing 
at South Hadley Falls, has an extensive prac- 
tice in this village and in the town of Hol- 
yoke. He began his professional career in 



this place in 1870, and during his many years 
of successful experience has won the confi- 
dence and respect of the community and the 
patronage of the best class of people. He was 
born February 22, 1845, in the town of Farm- 
ington, Conn., being a son of Rufus Augustus 
and Mary Ann (Goodwin) Hitchcock. 

Rufus A. Hitchcock was a native of Chesh- 
ire, Conn., born November 2, 1812, and in 
his early days was a clock-maker by trade, fol- 
lowing that vocation until thirty-five years oi 
age, his place of business and his residence 
being located at I'cnvville. He subsequently 
purchased land in Unionville, and there tilled 
the soil during his remaining years, dying on 
April 16, 1886. His first wife, Mary A. 
Goodwin, was born December 15, 1S22, in 
Harwinton, Conn., and there reared. She 
bore her husband four children: William Au- 
gustus, Dexter, George G., and Mary. Will- 
iam A. served in the late Rebellion for three 
consecutive years, belonging to the Sixteenth 
Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; and, being 
captured at the battle of the Wilderness, he 
was taken to Andersonville Prison, where he 
soon after died. Dexter, who married Miss 
Adele Brockway, of Norwalk, Conn., is there 
successfully engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine ; he is likewise interested in a brick busi- 
ness at Calhoun, N. Y. Mary, the youngest 
child, received a severe injury from which she 
has never recovered, and is now under treat- 
ment at an asylum. After the death of his 
first wife, on August 29, 1875, the father was 
married in West Springfield to Mrs. Eliza 
(Doolittle) Baley, a native of Cheshire, Conn., 
and now a resilient of Meriden, Conn. 

George G. Hitchcock as a lad was very fond 
of his books, and after leaving the public 
schools was sent to .1 business college in New- 
Haven, whence he went to Suffield, where he- 
pursued his studies at the Connecticut Literary 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Institute for three years. Returning to the 
place of his nativity he began the study of 
medicine with Dr. William Sage, now of New 
Haven, being under his instruction for three 
years, and then going to New York City took 
a complete course of study at the Homoeo- 
pathic College, where he was graduated in the 
class of 1870. Coming at once to Hampshire 
County, Dr. Hitchcock settled at South Hadley 
Falls, and has since devoted himself untiringly 
to the duties of his profession. He is said to 
have the largest practice of any physician at 
the Falls. 

On September 2, 1870, soon after coming 
to South Hadley Falls, Dr. Hitchcock was 
united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth M. 
Weller, daughter of Royal M. and Malvina 
(Penney) Weller, of Watertown, Conn. Their 
home has been brightened by the birth of two 
children, namely: Florence Weller Hitch- 
cock, born October 10, 1875; and Bessie 
Atlele Hitchcock, born October 10, 1878. 
Mr. Weller moved to East Granby, Conn., 
after the death of his first wife, Mrs. Hitch- 
cock's' mother ; and there he married again. 
The Doctor is a stanch Republican in poli- 
tics, and both he and Mrs. Hitchcock are es- 
teemed members of the Congregational church. 
They have a pleasant ami attractive home, and 
entertain their many friends with genuine 
hospitality. 

"ORACE HAUNTON, a prominent 
citizen of Westhampton, and in 
charge of the Loudville grist-mill, 
was born in County Norfolk, England, Decem- 
ber 13, 1850, son of Thomas and Miriam 
(Ellis) Haunton, both natives of the same 
county. Thomas Haunton, who was a shoe- 
maker, worked at his trade up to the time of 
his death in 1872. His wife lived through 
seventeen years of widowhood, passing away in 




1889. They had a large family — fifteen chil- 
dren — five of whom died in infancy. The 
others were named : Miriam, Fannie, Thomas, 
Sarah, Ellen, Hermon, Tabor, Charles, Hor- 
ace, and Horeb. 

Horace Haunton received his education in 
the national schools of England, and at sixteen 
started to earn a livelihood in a paper-mill. 
At the end of two years he obtained employ- 
ment in the chemical works at Thetford, where 
he remained four years. He had a brother-in- 
law living in America, from whom he heard 
good accounts of the country; and in 1872 he 
sailed for the United States, taking passage on 
the "James Foster, Jr." The voyage occu- 
pied five tedious weeks, and Mr. Haunton was 
well pleased at the end of that time to find 
himself in the city of New York. He went 
direct to Loudville and obtained work in a 
paper-mill owned by Caleb Loud, remaining 
three years. In 1875 he went to Georgetown, 
Province of Ontario, Canada, and, obtaining 
work in the government mills under the charge 
of William Barber & Brothers, paper manu- 
facturers, remained something over four years. 
He returned to Loudville in 1880, and again 
entered the employ of Mr. Loud. Nine years 
after he was made superintendent of the mill 
then owned by Buchanan & Bolt. Subse- 
quently he was given charge of the Loudville 
grist-mill, which he has conducted for two 
years, making many important repairs. He is 
also to some extent engaged in farming. 

In 1875 Mr. Haunton was married to Mary 
J. Clark, a native of Unionville, Conn. Her 
father, Kenas Clark, sacrificed his life on the 
altar of patriotism, having been killed in the 
Civil War. Mrs. Haunton died May 3, 1888, 
leaving four children, namely: Hermon Vic- 
tor, now in Easthampton ; Percy Claude, 
Charles Kenas, and Mattie Ellen, at home with 
their father. On December 3, 1890, Mr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Haunton was again married, taking for his 
wife Susan E. , daughter of Franklin and Dor- 
cas Strong, of Westhampton. Mr. and Mrs. 
Strong are both deceased. Mr. Haunton is a 
naturalized citizen and a zealous Republican. 
He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., 
belonging to Ionic Lodge of Easthampton. 
In religious belief he is a Congregationalist, 
and attends the church in Westhampton, in 
which he leads the choir. While a strong 
business man, Mr. Haunton appreciates the 
refinements of life. He is especially a lover 
of music, as his office in the church choir 
indicates; ami he is always a willing assistant, 
when not too inconvenient, in any musical 
] i inject in need of his services. 



"ENRY M. McCLOUD, a prominent 
h^H business man of Amherst, who acts 
as insurance agent, real estate 
broker, and notary public, was born in that 
town September 22, 1838, son oi Lewis and 
Minerva (Slate) McCloud, both natives of 
Franklin County, Massachusetts. The Mc- 
Clouds are of Scotch origin. Mr. McCloud's 
grandfather, Charles McCloud, who was a 
native of New Hampshire, was an early settler 
in Roue, Mass., where he was engaged in 
farming up to the time of his death. He was 
an industrious and successful man, and, though 
he worked early and late, lived to an advanced 
age. He was the father of a large family, one 
of whom, Mrs. Louie Brown, of Colerain, is 
yet living. 

Lewis McCloud, father of the subject of 
this sketch, was born in Rowe, March -4, 
1805. He also was a farmer, and in 1835 
purchased a farm in North Amherst, on which 
he spent the remainder of his life. He died 
in 1884; and his wife, who was born in Ber- 
nardston, May 18, 1S09, died in 1891. Polit- 



ically, Lewis McCloud was a Republican. 
He and his wife were both members of the 
Congregational church. They reared torn 
sons, namely: Milton I.., a carpenter in 
Northampton; Brooks I'., a carpenter in 
Charlemont; Leroy J., a wire-maker in North- 
ampton; and Henry M., who is the youngest. 

Henry M. McCloud grew to manhood in 
Amherst, receiving his education in the public- 
schools of that town. When sixteen years of 
age he entered the office of the Springfield 
Republican, where he learned the printer's 
trade, becoming familiar with all the practical 
branches of the business. He was for twenty- 
five years engaged as a printer and publisher, 
producing first-class work and earning a fair 
competency. He published the Amherst Rec- 
ord, a bright and newsy paper, from 1867 to 
1879, disposing oi his printing business in the 
latter year, and taking up his present occupa- 
tion in 1880. In addition to his other busi- 
ness he look> up pension claims, attends to the 
settling of estates, and for ten years has been 
a Justice of the Peace. Mr. McCloud is a 
veteran of the war, having enlisted December 
12, 1 8 6 1 , as a member of Company H, Twelfth 
Connecticut Volunteers, under command of 
Captain Joseph Toy. He was a participant in 
some of the principal engagements, which 
included the siege of Port Hudson, the battles 
of Cain River, Mansfield, Georgia Landing. 
Atchafalaya River, Bisland, Centreville, and 
the capture of New Orleans. In September, 
1S63, he was promoted to the rank of Second 
Lieutenant and transferred to Company B, 
Ninety-ninth United States Colored Infantry; 
and on October 1, 1 <S G 4 , he was honorably dis 
charged. 

On June 24, 1865, Mr. McCloud was mar- 
ried to Sarah A., daughter of Dr. Elijah W. 
Carpenter, of Bernardston. They have one 
son, Albert C. , born in Amherst, May 24, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1870, who is associated in business with bis 
father, and is married to Edna A. Carter. 
Henry M. McCloud votes the Republican 
ticket. In religious belief be is an Episcopa- 
lian. He is esteemed for his good judgment 
and business ability and for his strict integ- 
rity. In addition to his other offices of trust 
he holds the position of Trustee of the Smith 
Charities Institution of Northampton. 



IRA A. GUILFORD, a well-known bus- 
iness man of Northampton, Hamp- 
shire County, a member of the firm of 
Guilford & Wood, horse dealers, was born in 
Conway, Franklin County, Mass., October 24, 
1847, son of Walter and Minerva (Amsden) 
Guilford. Both his grandfather, Walter Guil- 
ford, Sr. , and his father were natives of Ash- 
field, the latter born in 181 8. The family 
name of his paternal grandmother was Burnett. 
His father was a farmer by occupation. He 
died in 1872, at the age of fifty-four. His 
wife, Minerva Amsden Guilford, died in 1874, 
her span of life also embracing fifty-four years. 
They were the parents of seven children, six 
of whom reached maturity. The eldest, Man- 
ley Guilford, offered up his young life on the 
altar of his country, dying in the army of a 
disease contracted in camp at the age of 
twenty-two. The others may here be briefly 
designated as follows : Minerva is the wife of 
Frank Warren, of Boston ; Ira A. is the sub- 
ject of this sketch, further mentioned below; 
Julius S. died in Ashfield, leaving a wife and 
two children ; Alice was drowned when a child 
a little over two years of age; Arthur is a 
hotel-keeper at Conway, Mass. ; Ralph M. 
resides in Northampton. 

Ira A. Guilford was reared to farm life. 
He attended the district schools, and acquired 
a fair education, working for his parents on 



the home farm until twenty-one years of age, 
when his father agreed to give him forty dol- 
lars a month. He was engaged in various 
work until November, 1886, when he formed a 
partnership with Frank J. Wood, of Shelburne 
Falls, and established a market for horses at 
Northampton Centre, under the firm name of 
Guilford & Wood. Their enterprise has pros- 
pered ; and they are doing quite an extensive 
business, trading largely in Western and 
Canadian horses, buying principally in Michi- 
gan and Illinois, and bearing a wide reputa- 
tion for fair dealing. They usually import in 
this way about thirty carloads per year, care- 
fully selected, their average annual sales 
amounting to one thousand horses. 

On Christmas Day, 1871, Mr. Guilford was 
united in marriage with Ella Brown, of Con- 
way, daughter of L. T. and Martha (Shippie) 
Brown. The one son who blessed their union 
passed away in infancy. Mr. Guilford is inde- 
pendent in political matters, using his own 
judgment in voting for the best men and meas- 
ures. Socially, he is an advanced member of 
the Masonic fraternity, being a prominent Sir 
Knight. 



« — • » ► 



DWARD CLARK POTTER, a promi- 
nent resident of Enfield and one of 
America's most noted sculptors, was 
born in New London, Conn., November 26, 
1857, son of Nathan D. and Mary (Clark) Pot- 
ter, respectively natives of Warren, Mass., and 
South Hadley. 

Nathan D. Potter was a pioneer of the town 
of Hancock, Mich. He was distinguished for 
his energy and perseverance, and died in En- 
field in 1879. His wife became the mother of 
two children, namely: Clara J., who is now 
the wife of Charles C. Hopkins, of Lansing, 
Mich. ; and Edward Clark Potter, the subject 
of this sketch. Mrs. Nathan D. Potter, who 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



22 3 



with 



ler sun in 



still survives, is now residin 
Enfield. 

Edward Clark Potter prepared for his colle- 
giate course at the Williston Seminary, and 
subsequently became a student at Amherst 
College. In 1880 he commenced his art stud- 
ies at the Boston School of the Fine Arts, and 
later continued them with D. C. French, of 
Concord, Mass. He has also had the advan- 
tage of European study, under such masters as 
Mercie and Fremiet, of Paris. His knowledge 
of arts has been greatly enhanced by much 
experience and observation while visiting 
the principal art centres. His first notable 
achievement was a bust of the Rev. Dorus 
Clark, which he completed in 1882. Among 
his succeeding works was a sleeping fawn 
with rabbit, completed in [888, which is now 
in the Art Institute in Chicago. His bust of 
President Wheeler, which he executed for the 
Senate Chamber in Washington, was finished 
in 1889. In collaboration with Mr. French, 
his old master, he executed the large horses, 
bulls, and quadriga which ornamented the 
grounds of the World's Fair in Chicago, to- 
gether with other fine specimens of sculpture 
which were seen at the great exposition. lie 
seems to particularly excel in the delineation 
ol large animal figures. He has already com- 
pleted the horse which is to form a part of the 
equestrian statue of General Grant, to be 
placed in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, the 
statue proper of the General being now in proc- 
ess of completion by Mr. French. 'Phis fig- 
ure, which was commenced in 1893, Mr. Potter 
considers to be his finest achievement. His 
latest work is a bronze statue of Robert Ful- 
ton, which is to ornament the new Congres- 
sional Library in Washington. His works 
have successfully withstood the crucial test of 
able, critical judgment; anil they are in the 
first rank of American art. 



On December 31, 1890, Mr. Potter was 
united in marriage to May Dumont, at Wash- 
ington, D.C. ; and they have two children : 
Nathan D. and Hazel 1). He is a Congrega 
tionalist in his religious belief and a Repub- 
lican in politics. 

Mr. Potter is still young and ambitious, 
and it is certain that under his pure conception 
and skilful technique American art will rise 
to a still higher standard of perfection. 




SA DICKINSON, a thorough farmer 
and respected citizen of Amherst, was 
born in that town on February 24, 
1809, son of Asa and Salome (Hastings) 
Dickinson. 

His grandfather, Nathan Dickinson, came 
to Amherst from Hatfield, settling in the 
eastern part of the town. At that time there 
were few inhabitants, and the larger part of 
the town was covered with forests of primitive 
growth. Though settling in a new country, 
where the conditions demanded a great deal of 
labor and hardship, he nevertheless lived to 
a good age. He was the father of a large fam- 
ilv of children. His son, Asa Dickinson, was 
reared to the business of a fanner, but was 
never a man of much physical strength. He- 
died of consumption at sixty-three years of 
age, ami his wife lived to be seventy-six years 
old. Their union was blessed by the birth of 
three children, of whom but one, Asa Dickin- 
son, is now living. The others were : Friend 
Dickinson, who was born April 6, 1806, and 
died November 22, 1851; and Noble Dickin- 
son, born December 14, 1807, who died < Icto- 
ber 27, 1887. 

Asa Dickinson was but fifteen years ol age 
at his father's death. .After that event he- 
assisted his mother in running the farm, and 
later on he purchased the old home with its 



424 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



forty acres of land. To this he has since 
added, so that he now has a farm of one hun- 
dred and fifty acres. Intelligent industry has 
brought him success, and to-day he has an 
excellent farm and a desirable residence. At 
the present time the farm work is performed 
by his two younger sons, who carry on general 
operations. 

On January 20, 1 84 1 , he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Louisa Sprout, of Hardwick, 
Mass., where her birth occurred on May 24, 
1809. Three sons and a daughter have been 
bom to them in the following order, namely : 
Edwin H., born September 10, 1843, who 
lives in Pennsylvania; Albert S. , born Decem- 
ber 22, 1845, residing on the home farm in 
Amherst; William A., who was born Novem- 
ber 19, 1849, also living at the farm; and 
Emma L., born August 23, 1855, who is 
the wife of Fred Dickinson, and resides in 
Amherst. Their mother died on April 2, 
1890. 

Mr. Dickinson's politics are independent. 
His religious views are liberal. His wife was 
a member of the Congregational church. 
Though well advanced in years, being one of 
the oldest citizens of Amherst, Mr. Dickinson 
still retains a good amount of mental vigor and 
bodily activity. 



-AIRUS E. CLARK, Sheriff of Hamp- 
shire County, was born at Southamp- 
ton, May 8, 1835. His father, Strong 
Clark, was born in the same town in 1801 ; 
and his grandfather, Noah Clark, a native of 
either Southampton or Northampton, was born 
December 1, 1762. He was an extensive and 
successful farmer, owning a farm of over four 
hundred acres of land situated at the foot 
of Montgomery Mountain. On February 5, 
1786, he married Eunice Strong, whose birth 



occurred in 1764. They reared a family of 
nine children, one daughter having died young. 
Those who grew to maturity became heads of 
families, most of them settling in New En<r- 
land. Noah Clark died in 1844, at the age of 
eighty-two, and his wife in 1853, aged eighty- 
nine years. 

Sheriff Clark's father was also a very pros- 
perous farmer and a prominent man in public 
affairs, being a Selectman for several years 
and a Representative to the General Court dur- 
ing the sessions of 1S46 and 1847. He was 
known as an industrious and prudent man, but 
exceedingly benevolent, bestowing generously 
the fruits of his labor upon the needy and 
unfortunate. A sincere Christian, gifted in 
prayer, he was a consistent member of the 
Congregational church. His wife, Roena 
Searle, of Chester, whom he married in the 
month of December, 1823, became the mother 
of two sons, Joseph S. and Jairus E. The 
former was a merchant of Westfield, where he 
died at the age of seventy-one years, leaving a 
widow and one son. Mr. Clark's mother still 
survives at the age of ninety-two years, bright 
and active mentally, though suffering from 
lameness which is the result of an accident. 
She resides at Southampton, where her sister, 
Mrs. Rachel Edwards, died at the advanced 
age of ninety-six. Mrs. Roena Searle Clark 
is the youngest of eight children born to her 
parents, Zenas and Rachel (Bates) Searle, four 
of whom died in the short space of four days, 
of scarlet fever. Two sons and two daughters 
lived to reach maturity, and Mrs. Clark is now 
the only survivor. 

Jairus E. Clark received a good education in 
the public schools of his native town and at 
the Sheldon Academy. He continued to re- 
side at home, assisting his father upon the 
farm and also conducting a profitable lumber 
business until 1868, when he engaged in the 




JAIRUS E. CLARK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



227 



meat business at Easthampton, which he car- 
ried on with satisfactory results for a period of 
seven years. He next became station agent of 
the New Haven Railroad, a position which he 
held for twelve years; and during that time he 
was elected High Sheriff of Hampshire 
County, having previously served as a Deputy. 
He is now (November, 1895) serving his 
twelfth year in office, and has recently been 
re-elected by the vote of both the Republican 
and Democratic parties, to serve a fifth term 
of three years, a fact showing the public appre- 
ciation of the ability and faithfulness with 
which he has discharged his trusts. 

On October 1, 1856, Mr. Clark was united 
in marriage with Miss Almanza M. Hubbard, 
of Southampton, who had been a school- 
teacher. Mrs. Clark's father, David C. Hub- 
bard, died early in life; and her mother became 
the wife of Seth Bartlett. Mr. and Mrs. 
Clark became the parents of three children, 
but have been called to part with two of them : 
Myron W., who died at the age of twenty-one 
months; and Eugene B. , at the age of five 
years. Their only surviving child, Gertrude 
A. Clark, is a bright and promising student 
at Lasell Seminary, Auburndale, Mass. Mr. 
Clark is well advanced in Masonry, being a 
member of the Mystic Shrine, and, although a 
Republican in politics, owes his election, as 
before mentioned, to both the great parties, 
which united in his support. He has also 
served as a Selectman at Southampton, as 
Chief of the fire department, and chairman of 
the Town Hall Committee at Easthampton, 
and is a Director of the Hampshire County 
National Bank of Northampton and a Trustee 
of the old savings bank at Easthampton. 

The portrait of Sheriff Clark shown in con- 
nection with this brief record of his career to 
date may well call to mind the poet's delinea- 
tion of the ideal citizen in power, who 



•■ tixes good on good alone, and owes 
To virtue every triumph that he knows ; 
Who. if he rise to station of command. 
Rises by open means. . . . 

Who comprehends his trust, and to the same 
Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim." 




ODOLPHUS C. CLARK, a well- 



known farmer of Prescott, was born 
-^ V _ , ^ in Rutland, Vt, December 18, 1832, 
son of Elijah and Zeviah (Weston) Clark. 
Mr. Clark's grandfather, Asahel Clark, was 
one of the first settlers in Belchertown. He 
owned a large tract of land, upon which he fol- 
lowed agriculture successfully, and was a 
prominent man. He died in Belchertown at 
the age of ninety years. His family consisted 
of twelve children, eleven of whom, five sons 
and six daughters, reached maturity. Of 
these, Elijah, Mr. Clark's father, was the 
youngest. 

Elijah Clark was born in Belchertown and 
reared to an agricultural life, in which he con- 
tinued for the active period of his life. He 
owned several farms. The greater portion of 
his life was passed in Belchertown, and he 
died at the age of eighty years. In religion 
he was a Baptist, while he was a Democrat in 
politics. His wife, Zeviah (Weston) Clark, 
who was born in Wellington, Tolland County, 
Conn., became the mother of ten children. 
Five of these are living, namely: Rodolphus 
C, the subject of this sketch; John, a resi- 
dent of Springfield; Elmina, wife of Rodol- 
phus Cooley, of Springfield; Maria, widow of 
Rodolphus Converse, of Springfield ; and 
Sophia King, widow of Captain King, now 
residing in San Francisco, Cal. Those de- 
ceased were; Weston E. and Orlando M., both 
of whom died in the Civil War; Elbridgre, 
who died in Boston; Zeviah; and Mary Ann. 
The mother died comparatively young. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Rodolphus C. Clark passed his boyhood and 
youth in Ludlow and neighboring towns. At 
the age of eight years he went to live with Dr. 
W. Alden in Ludlow, with whom he re- 
mained eight years. He then engaged in ped- 
dling tinware and stoves, an occupation which 
he followed for ten years. He next busied 
himself in various pursuits, and during the 
Civil War became a government contractor, in 
which capacity he furnished the War Depart- 
ment with twenty-five hundred horses. He 
then turned his attention to lumbering, and 
while in that business contracted to furnish 
the Boston & Albany Railroad Company with 
a large amount of material. He has been an 
exceedingly active and busy man, and his vari- 
ous enterprises have all terminated success- 
fully. In 1882 he purchased the farm where 
he now resides, which consists of one hundred 
and twenty acres, on which he is engaged in 
general farming, making a specialty of raising 
hay, grain, and fruits. His substantia] resi- 
dence, which is pleasantly situated, was 
erected by him ; and he also owns real estate 
in other towns. He is a Democrat in poli- 
tics and liberal in his views of religious 
differences. 

On June 28, i860, Mr. Clark was united in 
marriage to Lorinda I'. Hubbard, who was 
born in Ludlow, December 11, 1837, daughter 
of John P. and Harriet M. (Parsons) Hubbard, 
neither of whom is now living. Mr. and Mrs. 
Clark have three children, as follows: Minnie 
I... who resides at home; Mattie Howry, a 
resident of Prescott; and Mabel H., wife of 
Fred IS. Purdy, of Belchertown. 



YSyASHINGTON I- KICK, 
VpV^ prising and progressive 



an enter- 
/e farmer of 

Chesterfield, was born there June .j, 
1833, son of Lyman and Miranda (Taylor) 



Rice, both natives of the town. His paternal 
grandfather, Alvin Rice, was an early settler. 

Lyman Rice was a blacksmith by trade, and 
in connection with this industry also carried 
on general farming, being an active worker 
until his demise, in April, 1870. His wife 
survived him until January, 1883, when she 
died on the old homestead. They were the 
parents of seven children, namely: Samuel 
Davis and another child, both of whom died in 
infancy; Samuel Davis, second, engaged in 
farming in Champaign County, 111- ; George 
T. , a resident of Rice, Benton County, Minn. ; 
Washington I., the subject of this sketch; 
Louisa L., wife of H. Bisbee, of Chesterfield; 
and Amasa C, who died when but two years 
of age. 

Washington I. Rice ended his school life 
at the Westfield Academy. At the age of 
twenty-one years he assumed the management 
of the home farm, leaving his father to devote 
his entire time to his trade. On the death of 
his parents Mr. Rice bought the interest of the 
remaining heirs in the homestead property, 
which he has since conducted with the same 
success that characterized his previous man- 
agement. The farm includes two hundred 
acres of land, which, under his efficient man- 
agement, yields profitable harvests of corn, 
hay, and fruit. 

Mr. Rice was united in marriage December 
20, 1870, to Mrs. Martha S. (Sampson) 
Boulls, a daughter of Abner Sampson, for- 
merly engaged in farming in the town of 
Chester, of which he was a lifelong resident. 
Of her union with Mr. Boulls Mrs. Rice had 
one child, Cora E., who married J. L. Clark, 
of Bridgeport, Conn. Mr. Rice is active in 
both social and political life. He is a stanch 
member of the Republican party. He has 
been a Selectman for nineteen years, for fif- 
teen of them serving as chairman of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 






board. He has also been Assessor and Over- 
seer of the Poor. 



/©To 



EORGE W. COTTRELL, a resident 
VrI of Middlefield since his early youth. 
was born in Hinsdale, Mass., on 
March 15, 1856, son of George W. and Angie 
M. (Dyer) Cottrell. His parents were George 
W. and Angie M. (Dyer) Cottrell. George 
W. Cottrell was a native of Worthington, 
Mass., where his birth occurred August 31, 

1830. He spent his life in farming, which, 
while involving an almost unceasing round of 
toil, still allows to its followers a freedom 
and independence not found in many other 
occupations. In 1861 he removed to Middle- 
field, where he purchased a farm, on which he 
resided during the remaining years of his life. 
He died there on June 23, 1883. His wife, 
who was born in Plainfield, Mass., October 4, 

1831, is still living. They had four children, 
as follows: George W. ; Mary, the wife of 
Herbert H. Prentice, a successful agricult- 
urist residing in Middlefield; Carrie, who 
married King Phillips, and now lives in Peru, 
Mass., where her husband is profitably en- 
gaged in farming; and John, who died at 
twenty-one years of age. All the children 
enjoyed the advantages of a common-school 
education. Mr. Cottrell was a Republican in 
politics. He also took a keen interest in the 
affairs of his town, which he served as Se- 
lectman; and he was at one time a member of 
the School Board. He and his wife were 
both members of the Congregational church at 
Middlefield. 

George W. Cottrell was but five years of 
age when his parents settled in Middlefield. 
He remained at home until he was twenty- 
three years of age, when he established him- 
self as a farmer. His efforts turned out 



prosperously. Beginning in moderate circum- 
stances, his business ability and prudence have 
since acquired for him a comfortable compe- 
tence. Besides his general farming and 
dairying there is an excellent sugar maple 
orchard on his farm, which yields him yearly 
about four thousand pounds of choice maple 
sugar, for which he finds a ready market in 
Hartford, Conn. He is one of the largest 
maple sugar manufacturers of the town. 

On May 8, 1879, Mr. Cottrell was married 
to Miss Elsie Wright, who was born August 
19, 1855, and is a native of Middlefield, 
where her life has been spent. She is a 
daughter of Charles and Sallie (Smith) 
Wright. Four children have come to 
brighten their home, as follows: Mary Addie, 
born on St. Valentine's Day, February 14, 
1881; Frank Arthur, born August 8, 1882; 
Sarah Elsie, born March 7, 1884; and John 
W., born November 20, 18S8, who died July 
1, 1892. 

In politics Mr. Cottrell supports the Repub- 
lican party, to which he has ever been loyal. 
Besides attending to his agricultural labors, 
he finds time to give due attention to such 
interests of the town as his fellow-citizens 
have intrusted to his care. At the present 
time he is serving as Selectman, and has been 
chairman of that board for two years. He 
has also been a member of the School Board 
for several years. Mr. Cottrell and his wife 
attend church at Middlefield, where both are 
well known and respected. 




DWIN D. MARSH, a resident of Am- 
herst and a dealer in carpets, furni- 
ture, and upholster}', was born in 
Chicopee, Mass., on Washington's Birthday 
in 1845, son °f Merrick M. and Louisa (Bart- 
lett) Marsh. 



230 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



His grandfather, Rufus Marsh, who was a 
native of Rome, N.Y., resided in Franklin 
County, Massachusetts. During the greater 
part of his life he followed the trade of a car- 
penter, and also successfully operated a saw- 
mill and a grist-mill. He was a man of in- 
dustrious habits and a respected citizen of his 
town. He died in Whately, Mass., fifty-two 
years of age. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Camilla Church, bore him eleven children. 
The seven now living are: Norman C, Electa, 
Amoretta, Merrick M., Edwin D., Brigham, 
and Sabra. The mother was seventy-two 
years of age at the time of her death. Both 
parents were Episcopalians in their religious 
belief, and in politics he was a Democrat. 

Merrick M. Marsh, who was born in Erving, 
Mass., January 14, 1822, came to Amherst 
when but sixteen years of age to learn the 
trade of a cabinet-maker with the firm of 
McKinney & Bangs. Several years later, 
about 1844, he went to Brattleboro, Vt., for 
a brief time, and thence to Enfield, Mass. 
After a short interval spent in other places 
he finally returned in 1846 to Amherst, and 
has since resided in that place. In 1838 he 
engaged in business for himself as a cabinet- 
maker; and, with the exception of about two 
years, he followed it continuously until he 
retired from active participation in a mercan- 
tile life. After i860 the business was con- 
ducted under the firm name of Marsh & 
Young for a number of years. His son, who 
afterward entered into partnership with him, 
when the father retired took full control of 
the business. His wife, Louisa Bartlett be- 
fore marriage, who was born in Leverett, 
Mass., on October 30, 1822, bore him two 
sons: Edwin D. and Charles D. The latter 
died in childhood. Mr. Marsh and his wife 
are members of the Episcopal church, and in 
politics he is a Democrat. 



Edwin D. Marsh received a good practical 
education in the common schools of Amherst. 
When fifteen years of age, he entered the 
hardware store of William Kellogg as clerk; 
and, after remaining with him two years, he 
worked a year for George Cutler. He next 
went to Springfield, Mass., where he was em- 
ployed for three years. The four years fol- 
lowing were spent in different places in the 
West. In 1869 he returned to Amherst, and, 
as already stated, was taken into partnership 
by his father, succeeding to the business in 
1883. He still conducts the store, carrying 
a large stock of furniture, carpets, uphol- 
stery, and draperies. He is also engaged in 
the undertaking business. On February 22, 
1871, his twenty-sixth birthday, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Cornelia G. 
Strickland, who was born in Lee, Mass. 
Their union has been blessed by the birth of 
a daughter, Nellie L. Marsh, who lives with 
her parents. 

In politics Mr. Marsh is a Democrat. He 
has always taken a keen interest in his town, 
and has served most acceptably as Secretary 
of the Association for Village Improvement 
and Treasurer of the Amherst Cemetery Asso- 
ciation. He is an attendant of the Congre- 
gational church, of which his wife is a mem- 
ber; and both are highly esteemed by all who 
know them. 



KfRY S. ALLEN, a prosperous 
armer of Pelham, was born in 
Belchertown, Mass., January 10, 
1867, son of Baxter and Esther (Newell) 
Allen. Mr. Allen's grandfather, Amasa 
Allen, was a native and a lifelong resident of 
Belchertown, where he followed agriculture 
successfully, and died in 1891. He was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and a Republican in politics. He married 



BIOGRAPHICAL RF.VIEW 



Alice Sherman, and she became the mother 
of two sons, as follows: Henry D., who now 
resides in West Pelham ; and Baxter, Mr. 
Allen's father. The mother died in Belcher- 
town at an advanced age. 

Baxter Allen was born in Belchertovvn, 
and was reared to an agricultural life. He 
moved from Belchertown to Pelham, settled 
upon the farm where his son Henry S. now 
resides, and, being energetic and industri- 
ous, became a prosperous farmer. He died 
June 8, 1 88 1. He was an active member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, anil for some 
time served it as a Trustee. He married 
November 27, 1862, Esther Newell, daughter 
of Lenuel and Charlotte (Arnold) Newell. 
The father was born in Pelham, March 13, 
1 8 10; and the mother was born in Belcher- 
town, March 5, 181 7. David Newell, the 
grandfather of Mrs. Baxter Allen, was an 
early settler in Pelham, where he passed the 
remainder of his life. Lemuel Newell owned 
ami cultivated a large farm. He was highly 
respected, was prominently connected with 
public affairs, and served the town with 
ability as a Selectman, Overseer of the Poor, 
and in other offices. His death occurred 
August 26, 1887. He attended the Meth- 
odist church, and was a Republican in his po- 
litical relations. His wife, Charlotte Arnold 
before marriage, died August 15, 1845. Of 
her children four reached maturity. Two are 
now living, namely: H. Smith Newell, a 
resident of Chicopee Falls; and Esther, who 
is now Mrs. Baxter Allen. Mrs. Baxter 
Allen became the mother of five children, as 
follows: Lyman W., who was born February 
23, 1864, is married, and resides in West 
Pelham; Henry S., the subject of this sketch; 
Alice M., born March 7, 1871, and residing 
in Pelham; Myron N., born August 16, 1872, 
and now a prosperous farmer of Amherst; and 



Estella N., born February 26, 1878, and now 
the wife of William Lamed, a mechanic of 
Pelham. The mother, who still survives, re- 
sides at the old homestead. 

Henry S. Allen received his education in 
the common schools of his native town. At 
the age of fourteen he commenced life for 
himself as a farm boy. In this employment 
he earned sixty-five dollars by working eight 
months. He continued to labor upon a farm 
for some time longer, and then was employed 
in a meat market in Amherst, where he re- 
mained for five years. After this he became 
a clerk in the Grange store of Amherst. Ik- 
was thirteen months in this position, when 
he resigned it to settle upon his present farm 
in Pelham, and engage in agriculture upon his 
own account. The property, which was former- 
ly owned by Lemuel Newell, and later came 
into the possession of the Allen family, con- 
sists of two hundred acres of well-improved 
land. Mr. Allen devotes his time and atten- 
tion to general farming, and he enters into his 
occupation with a spirit which takes no defeat. 

He is a Republican in politics, and is at 
the present time serving as a member of the 
Board of Selectmen and of the School Board. 
On September 30, 1890, Mr. Allen wis 
united in marriage to Ada A. Brainard. She 
was born in Vernon, Conn., December 11, 
1868, daughter of John and Fidelia (Goslee) 
Brainard, the former of whom resides in Am- 
herst. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have one daugh- 
ter, named Gladys H., who was born October 
15, 1892. They are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. 



BENEZER A. KING, a leading farmer 

of Amherst, was born in North Am- 
herst, March I, 1839, son of Cyrus 
and Achsah (Adams) King. Mr. King's 






BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



grandfather, Peter King, was born in Groton, 
Mi^s., in 1757. He was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary War, serving under General 
Mati Kin. He first settled upon a farm in Pel- 
ham, Mass., which he cleared from the wilder- 
ness, and resided there until 1820. He then 
moved tci Amherst, locating on what is known 
as Flat Hill; and his farm is now owned by 
his grandson. He was a liberal supporter of 
the Methodist church and a Democrat in poli- 
tics. Peter King died in Amherst, aged 
ninety-eight. His wife, Abigail Ingram in 
her maidenhood, became the mother of six 
children: Ebenezer, Peter, Cyrus, Appleton, 
Abigail, and Dency. 

Cyrus King, Mr. King's father, was born 
in Pelham, January 9, 1803. He was a 
school-teacher in early manhood, and also 
learned the trade of a stone-cutter. He 
resided at the homestead for some years, and, 
selling that property, bought a farm in the 
eastern part of the town of Amherst, which 
is now occupied by his son Isaac. He was 
an industrious and a highly respected man, a 
Republican in politics, and served as a mem- 
ber of the School Board. He attended the 
Methodist church, and presented the society 
with the land on which its present house of 
worship stands. Cyrus King died in 1880, 
aged seventy-seven years. His wife, Achsah 
Adams, who was born in Shutesbury, Septem- 
ber 23, 1809, became the mother of six chil- 
dren, as follows: Edward P., who became a 
Methodist minister, and died nearly fifty years 
old; Woodbridge A.; Ebenezer A., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; Isaac N., a prosperous 
farmer of Amherst; Ella C, wife of J. L. 
Lowe, a professor in the university in Lin- 
coln, Neb. ; and Emma, wife of Addison R. 
Jones, a resident of Amherst. The mother, 
who still survives, resides with her children. 
Ebenezer A. King was educated in the 



schools of Amherst. He grew to manhood in 
the King homestead at North Amherst; and 
in i860 he purchased a farm of one hundred 
acres, situated on East Street. After resid- 
ing there for one year, he sold the property, 
and purchased the farm which he now occu- 
pies. He conducts a dairy, keeping thirty 
Jersey cows, and has reached his present state 
of prosperity through his energy and good 
judgment. Mr. King is a Republican in 
politics, was a Selectman for three years, and 
has held other town offices. 

On April 11, i860, Mr. King was united in 
marriage to Clara J. Hawley. She was born 
in Amherst, daughter of Justin and Melinda 
Hawley, who were old residents of the town. 
Mr. and Mrs. King have two children, 
namely: Hattie J., wife of Abram W. Chase, 
who resides with her parents; and Frank A., 
a clerk in the employ of J. H. Prindle, North- 
ampton. Mr. and Mrs. King are members of 
the Congregational church. 



OSIAH W. FLINT, a prominent lumber 
manufacturer of Enfield, Mass., was 
born in Athol, Worcester County, No- 
vember 4, 1839, son of Josiah and Elizabeth 
(Hill) Flint. Mr. Flint's paternal grand- 
father, Willard Flint, was a prosperous farmer 
of Royalston, another town in the county of 
Worcester, where he resided for a greater part 
of his life, and died at an advanced age. 

Josiah Flint, son of Willard, was born in 
Sterling, Mass. He was an industrious 
farmer and a useful citizen. His wife, Eliza- 
beth Hill, who was a native of Athol, became 
the mother of eight children, all of whom 
lived to reach maturity, and five are now liv- 
ing, namely: Eliza A., who is now Mrs. 
Lord, and resides in Athol; Abbie H., now 
Mrs. Harvey, of Athol; Rebecca S., Mrs. 




J. W. FLINT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



235 



Ellenwood, ot Newton, Mass.; Jane A., who 
is now Mrs. Rickey, and resides in Athol; 
and Josiab \Y., who lives in Enfield, as above 
mentioned. A sister, Mrs. Mary G. Barlow, 
died in Athol; one brother, Cyrus F., died 
in Brooklyn, N.V.: and another, George I., 
died in Athol. 

Josiah W. Flint is the youngest of the 
family. He received his education in the 
schools of Athol and Hardwick; and at the 
age of sixteen he left home, and went to re- 
side with his sister in Hardwick, where he 
was engaged in farming and butchering for 
fourteen years. In April, 1874, he came to 
Enfield, and bought his first real estate, a 
farm of sixty acres, which he cultivated suc- 
cessfully for ten years. He also engaged in 
the lumber business in company with D. B. 
Gillett, with whom he is still associated; and 
they owned at one time a wooded tract of five 
hundred acres. They are extensive manufact- 
urers of all kinds of native lumber, and have 
conducted for some years a very profitable 
business. Mr. Flint now owns, individually, 
about one hundred and fifty acres of land ; and 
he occupies a handsome modern residence, 
which he erected in 1894. He is prominent 
in public affairs, and has been a member of 
the Board of Selectmen for the past six years. 
He has also served as Road Commissioner 
and Constable, and is at the present time 
Deputy Sheriff. He is a member of Bethel 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 

Mr. Flint has been twice married, but has 
no children. His first wife, Emma E. Taft, 
whom he wedded in 1864, died in 1 89 1 ; and 
his second wife. Kitty Shoals, a native of 
Easthampton, who became Mrs. Flint in 
1893, died in 1894. Mr. Flint is one of the 
most enterprising business men in Enfield, 
and his undertakings have been productive of 
the most <rratifving results. 




REDERIC DAN HUNTINGTON, 
S.T.D., LL.D., L.H.D.. first Bishop 
of the Diocese of Central New York, 
was born May 28, 18 19, in the historic town 
of Hadley, the house where he was born being 
now his summer home. He is a son of the 
Rev. Dan Huntington, who acted for some 
time as pastor in Litchfield and Middletown, 
Conn., but moved in 18 16 to Hampshire 
County, Massachusetts. For some time he 
taught at Hopkins Academy in Hadley, his 
home being the house now owned by the 
Bishop. The Rev. Dan Huntington married 
Elizabeth W. Phelps, daughter of Charles and 
Elizabeth (Porter) Phelps, of Hadley. The 
latter was the only daughter of Captain Moses 
Porter, who in 1753 built the house which 
afterward became the home of his grand- 
daughter, Mrs. Huntington, and her family. 
Mr. and Mrs. Phelps had but two children: 
the mother of Frederic Dan Huntington and 
Major Charles P. Phelps. Mrs. Huntington 
at the time of her marriage owned some three 
hundred acres of the farm ; and her brother 
built a dwelling on the land, and named the 
place "Pine Grove." Mr. and Mrs. Hunting- 
ton were the parents of eleven children, 
namely: the Hon. Charles P. Huntington, an 
attorney and judge; William Pitkin; Eliza- 
beth P., Mrs. Fisher; Bethia Throop; Ed- 
ward P.: John Whiting; Theophilus Parsons; 
Theo Gregson ; Mary Dwight ; Catherine 
Carey; Frederic Dan, our subject. 

Frederic Dan Huntington graduated from 
Amherst in 1839. After graduation he took 
charge of the South Unitarian Church in 
Boston, over which he presided till 1855, 
when he was called to Harvard College, 
where he served as professor and preacher five 
years. Mr. Huntington was a deep and ear- 
nest thinker on the subject of religion; and in 
i860, after mature deliberation, he joined the 



-\1 r > 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



fold of the Protestant Episcopal church, tak- 
ing charge of the newly organized parish of 
Emmanuel Church, Boston, where he labored 
for nine years. At the end of that time he 
was chosen and consecrated Bishop of the 
Diocese of Central New York. 

The works of Bishop Huntington's pen are 
too many to enumerate here. They embrace 
poetry and prose and a diversified list of sub- 
jects, all treated gracefully and forcibly. His 
literary work alone covers a broad sphere of 
action; for, besides writing books, pamphlets, 
and poems, he contributed to the old Demo- 
cratic Review, the Christian Examiner, the 
North American Review, the Forum, the 
American Church Review, the Homiletic Re- 
view, the Independent, the Boston Courier, the 
Churchman, and the Congregationalist ; and he 
was editor for several years each of the Chris- 
tian Register, the Monthly Religious Maga- 
zine, and the Chinch Monthly. Bishop Hunt- 
ington has been connected with educational 
institutions in the following capacities: Trus- 
tee and Visitor of Hobart College; professor 
and preacher at Harvard (1855-60); Trustee 
at St. Paul's School, Concord, several years; 
Trustee of St. Mark's School, of the Keble 
School for Girls, Syracuse, and of Vassar 
College; President of the Board of Trustees 
of St. John's School for Boys; and lecturer 
for one season at the Episcopal Theologi- 
cal School, Cambridge, and for two seasons 
at the General Theological Seminary, New 
York. 

The above is a brief synopsis of Bishop 
Huntington's career, giving merely the step- 
ping-stones on the way to his present posi- 
tion. Of the years of conscientious and 
loving labor in behalf of his fellow-men, of 
pathetic and thrilling incidents in his career 
as a minister to needy souls, and of his own 
mental struggles and achievements space is 



not here given to write. A man of broad 
scholarship and unusual intellectual force, by 
personal effort and by the use of a facile and 
powerful pen he has done a great work for the 
Episcopal Church. He it was who first recog- 
nized the uses of an order of evangelists, and 
whose sympathy and encouragement brought 
into existence the Parochial Missions Society 
and the well-known St. Andrew's Brother- 
hood . 

On the 8th of April, 1894, the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of the consecration of Bishop 
Huntington was observed throughout his dio- 
cese; and the parishes of Syracuse united in 
service at St. Paul's Cathedral, Bishop Hunt- 
ington pronouncing the benediction. A 
more formal and elaborate commemoration of 
the anniversary was made in connection with 
the annual Diocesan Convention, held at the 
cathedral on Wednesday, June 13, 1894, 
when three bishops and ninety-eight other 
clergymen were present, besides ninety-nine 
lay delegates and a large congregation, com- 
posed of people from Syracuse and other parts 
of the diocese. Many were present who at- 
tended the consecration at Boston twenty-five 
years ago. After the services in the church 
a public reception was held in the parlors of 
the Yates Hotel, where a large number of 
persons took occasion to offer congratulations 
to the Bishop. 

In 1843 Bishop Huntington was united in 
marriage to Hannah Dane, daughter of Epes 
Sargent, of Boston, and five children blessed 
their union, namely: the Rev. George P. 
Huntington, rector of the parish at Hanover, 
N.H.; Arria Sargent, who lives with her 
parents; Ruth G., wife of A. L. Sessions, of 
Brooklyn, N.Y. ; the Rev. James O. S. 
Huntington, known as Father Huntington, a 
preacher and evangelist; and Mary L., who 
is with her parents. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



237 



Bishop Huntington's diocesan residence is 
at Syracuse, N.Y., where he is to be found 
the greater part of the year. The house in 
Hadley, where he spends his leisure seasons, 
and which is endeared to him by early asso- 
ciations, is one of the oldest in the State. 
A fine estate of more than a hundred acres of 
land adjoins the residence, and the whole 
makes an ideal country home. Though now 
in his seventy-seventh year, Bishop Hunting- 
ton's faculties are still undimmed. At the 
last Commencement exercises of Amherst he 
was the oldest alumnus present, and the num- 
ber of his contemporaries is yearly dwind- 
ling; but all who have lived under his wise 
and far-sighted administration pray that he 
may be spared many years yet to watch over 
the spiritual welfare of the diocese of Central 
New York. 



bpELIX BOMBARD, a resident of Ware, 

P^ engaged in the livery business and in 

the wholesale and retail liquor trade, 

was born in the Province of Quebec, February 

2, 1856, son of Jacob and Clara (Carpenter) 

Bombard. 

His father, Jacob Bombard, began life in 
humble circumstances, working at first as a 
laboring man in saw-mills and at other kinds 
of work. Later on he became a boatman on 
the Champlain Canal, in which occupation he 
first began to make progress financially. He 
afterward opened a hotel and store in Sandy 
Hill, N.Y., whither he had gone on leaving 
Quebec. Being a man of good business abil- 
ity, his ventures were generally successful; 
and at his death he left property valued at 
between twenty-five and thirty thousand dol- 
lars. He died in 1893, sixty-nine years of 
age, leaving with his widow five children, the 
survivors of thirteen born of their union. 
His widow is a daughter of Lewis Carpenter, 



who was at one time a farmer in Canada. 
Toward the close of his life he removed to 
Washington County, New York, where he 
died in 1876, eighty-two years of age. Mrs. 
Bombard's children, with the exception of 
Felix Bombard, the subject of this sketch, all 
reside in Sandy Hill, N.Y. The}' are: Jo- 
sephine Bombard, a maiden lady, living at 
home; Nelson J., of the mercantile firm of 
Bombard Brothers; James, proprietor of the 
St. Clair House of Sandy Hill, X.Y., having 
succeeded his father; and Henry L., who is 
associated in business with his brother Nel- 
son J. Their mother, who is now seventy- 
one years of age, is still strong and active. 
She is the eldest of a large family, of whom 
seven sons and three daughters are still liv- 
ing; and the youngest is forty-four years old. 
Three of her brothers served in the Civil War. 
Felix Bombard received only a limited edu- 
cation; and at the age of twelve years he 
began to assist his father on the canal, per- 
forming the work of a man. In his twentieth 
year he started out in business for himself, 
and for two years kept the St. Clair Hotel. 
He next removed to Southbridge, Mass., 
where he drove a tinware cart for three years, 
being engaged on a salary. He then started 
in the business for himself, and kept five carts 
on the road the larger part of the time. In 
1880 he went to North Brookfield, Mass., and 
three years later came to Ware, continuing in 
the tin business in both places until 1886, 
when he closed out his store, and engaged in 
the importation of Canadian horses. When 
he started, he had only a barn with four stalls: 
but he has since done a very successful busi- 
ness. In 1890 he sold horses to the value of 
about forty-five thousand dollars, besides 
transacting a large business in carriages and 
harnesses. He now has a barn suitable for 
thirty-two horses, and usually has from five 



>38 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



to twenty on hand. In 1894 he erected his 
block at the corner of Parker Street, where he 
now carries on horse dealing, a livery, and 
the carriage, harness, and saddlery business. 
Also in the building are commission auction 
rooms, where he holds weekly sales of horses. 
He opened his restaurant, with which he com- 
bines a wholesale and retail liquor business, 
in 1895. 

When twenty years of age, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Apoline Vannier, 
of Sandy Hill, N.Y., who was a daughter of 
John Vannier. Three children were born of 
this union. She died at Southbridge, Mass., 
in 1879, leaving an infant daughter, Delia, 
who is now sixteen years of age. The other 
children are: Carrie; and Frederick, who is 
seventeen years of age. On April 25, 1881, 
Mr. Bombard was again married, his second 
wife being Miss Mary Goyette, daughter of 
Charles and Elizabeth (Bolio) Goyette, of 
North Brookfield, Mass. Her parents had 
fifteen children, of whom nine arc now liv- 
ing. Mr. Bombard has no children by his 
second marriage. 

In political affiliation Mr. Bombard is a 
Democrat. During his residence in North 
Brookfield he served as Constable, and since 
he has resided in Ware he has filled for two 
years each the offices of Constable and Road 
Commissioner. He and his family are con- 
sistent members of All Saints' Church, which 
is now under the charge of Father Boyle. 
They reside in the pleasant home which Mr. 
Bombard erected in 1888. 




I LIT AM H. TODD, manager of 
the Academy of Music at North- 
ampton, is a native of New York 
City, born May 16, 1838, a son of Calvin and 
Emma (Todd) Todd, who were not related by 



consanguinity. His father was born in Men- 
don, Worcester County, Mass., and for many 
years was one of the substantial business men 
of Fitchburg, Mass. 

Mr. Todd was deprived by death of a 
mother's care when but an infant. For a 
time he was cared for at Ashburnham, Mass., 
by a nurse, subsequently by his maternal 
grandmother, and later by an aunt in North- 
ampton. He completed his education at the 
Moravian Academy in Nazareth, Pa. At the 
age of sixteen years he began an apprentice- 
ship to the hardware trade with Luther I. 
Washburn, husband of his aunt, Mary C. 
Todd. Five years later Mr. Todd became a 
clerk in a hardware store at Flkhart, Ind. 
On the death of Mr. Washburn, which oc- 
curred shortly after his departure, he returned 
to take charge of the business he left. This 
he managed successfully from 1859 until 
1878, when F. I. Washburn, his aunt's son, 
succeeded him. Mr. Todd again went West. 
He bought out a hardware store in Oskaloosa, 
la., ran it for nearly two years, and then 
sold out at an advantage. He next became 
interested in a stock company established at 
Lorain, Ohio, for the manufacture of brass 
goods, acting as secretary foi the company for 
a few years. From 18S1 until 1886 he was 
the New York agent of the Lorain Manufact- 
uring Company. He then came to Northamp- 
ton, which he has since made his home. For 
the past few years he has been the efficient 
manager of the Academy of Music. 

The union of Mr. Todd with Nancy, daugh- 
ter of Charles P. Kingsley, of this city, oc- 
curred in 1862. They had four children, one 
of whom, a daughter, died in infancy. Those 
living are as follows: Emma, the wife of 
John W. Hartwell, of this place; William 
Baker Todd, a resident of Lorain, Ohio, mar- 
ried, and lather of three children — Thomas 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



-39 



G., William Henry, and Mina; and Elizabeth 
N., who lives with her parents. Mr. Todd 
has ever evinced a warm interest in local im- 
provement, heartily indorsing all enterprises 
calculated to advance the welfare of the city. 
He accepts the principles of the Democratic 
party. He is connected with the Masonic 
fraternity as a Knight Templar. 




■^V^lRS. LUCINDA MEEKINS, widow 
jf the late Christopher H. Mee- 
kins, is a well-known and highly 
respected resident of Williamsburg. Christo- 
pher H. Meekins, her late husband, was born 
in Williamsburg, February 15, 1S10, son of 
Stephen and Sarah (Hecox) Meekins. 

Mr. Meekins's great-grandfather, Thomas 
Meekins, emigrated from England, and settled 
in Hatfield, Mass., where he became a large 
land-owner and a prominent citizen. His 
son, Thomas (second), Mr. Meekins"s grand- 
father, was born in Hatfield, anil from there 
moved to Williamsburg when it was mostly a 
wilderness. He bought one hundred acres 
of land at a nominal price, the terms includ- 
ing an agreement that he should settle in the 
town and clear the land. He succeeded in 
complying with the terms, although the life 
of a pioneer was an arduous one in those early 
days. He cleared and improved a valuable 
farm, upon which he later erected a substan- 
tial frame house. He became a well-to-do 
farmer, and died at the age of eighty-five 
years. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Hannah Carey, died at the age of sixty. 
Stephen Meekins, Mr. Meekins's father, was 
born in Williamsburg, and was reared to agri- 
culture. He assisted his father in improving 
the property and in otherwise attending to 
the farm. He afterward purchased a portion 
of the farm, built the house which now stands 



upon the Gilbert farm, and also erected the 
residence in which Mrs. Meekins now lives. 
He kept two hundred sheep and about thirty 
head of stock, and was in very prosperous cir- 
cumstances when he died, at the age of sev- 
enty years. His wife, Sarah Hecox, became 
the mother of the following children: Han- 
nah; Louis; Theodosia; Thomas; Christo- 
pher; Stephen; John; and two others, who 
died in infancy. She died at an advanced age. 

Christopher H. Meekins was burn at the 
old homestead in Williamsburg, and at an 
early age became proficient in agriculture. 
He cared for his parents during their declin- 
ing years, and succeeded to the possession of 
the homestead by purchasing the interests of 
the other heirs. He was an energetic and 
progressive farmer, and made various im- 
provements in his property, planting many 
fruit-trees, which at the present time attest 
his labor and industry. He also dealt largely 
in sheep and cattle. On February 18, 1850, 
Christopher H. Meekins was united in mar- 
riage to Lucinda Wolcott, the subject of this 
sketch. Mrs. Meekins is a daughter of 
Luther and Rizpah (Curtis) Wolcott. The 
father was a native of Williamsburg, was a 
successful farmer, and kept a hotel. He later 
moved to Ulster County, New York, where he 
held the office of Sheriff for a number of 
years, and died there at the age of thirty- 
eight. He was a Democrat in politics and a 
Congregationalist in his religious belief. 
His wife became the mother of five children: 
Lucinda, Cyrus, Mehitable, Elizabeth, and 
Luther. She was a member of the Baptist 
church, and died at the age of seventy-four 
years. 

The late Christopher Meekins was a Repub- 
lican in politics; ami, although most eligible 
for public office, he always declined to serve. 
He died at the age of seventy years. Mrs. 



240 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Meekins has had three children, namely: 
Thomas W., who was born July 13, 1855, and 
now has charge of the home farm; Sarah L., 
who was born October 22, 1859, married 
Edward Cleary, and resides in Searsville; and 
Charles C, the eldest, who died in 1887, 
aged thirty-eight years. Mrs. Meekins is a 
lady who possesses many sterling traits of 
character. She is endowed with intellectual 
faculties of a high order, and has been an 
untiring reader of standard and instructive 
literature. 



{ ^TeORGE P. DICKINSON, a retired 
V ^5 I merchant and Treasurer of the North- 
ampton Gas Company, was born in 
this town, July 13, 1822, son of James S. and 
Betsey (Pomeroy) Dickinson. 

His father, born in 1780, was a leading- 
merchant of this section of the county. He 
was intimately associated with the best inter- 
ests of the town, and represented his district 
in the State legislature. He was very suc- 
cessful in his financial affairs, leaving at his 
death, which occurred in 1824, a substantial 
property. His wife was a daughter of Quan- 
tus Pomeroy and the grand-daughter of Gen- 
eral Seth Pomeroy. They reared a family of 
five children, two of whom died. The others, 
besides the subject of this sketch, are: James 
S. Dickinson; and his sister, Mary C. Dick- 
inson, both residents of Toledo, Ohio. 

Mr. Dickinson received his education in 
the district school and in the academy and 
select school. When sixteen years old, he 
went to St. Louis, Mo., to clerk in a hardware 
store for his brother-in-law. Four years later 
he returned to Northampton, where he engaged 
as a salesman for two years. He then became 
the partner of his employer; and for the suc- 
ceeding two years they did a good business, 
under the firm name of Hopkins & Dickinson. 



Buying out his partner, Mr. Dickinson con- 
tinued the business alone for two years more, 
and then formed a copartnership with a Mr. 
West and his son, under the firm name of 
West, Dickinson & Co. In 1856 the firm 
dissolved; and Mr. Dickinson went to Brook- 
lyn, N.Y. Here he embarked in trade with 
another Mr. West, with very satisfactory 
results. The firm carried on a prosperous and 
extensive business until 1878, when Mr. 
Dickinson, whose health was somewhat im- 
paired by his close attention to business, sold 
out to his partner, and returned to the scenes 
of his early life. In 1880 he bought the land, 
and erected upon it his present commodious 
residence, which is one of the finest and most 
attractive of the elegant dwellings on Elm 
Street. With its vine-clad front and situation 
in the centre of a shady lawn, it presents a 
charming appearance to the passer-by. Mr. 
Dickinson has also invested in other real es- 
tate, is a shareholder in the gas works, and 
treasurer of the company. 

June 2"j, 1849, Mr. Dickinson was united 
in marriage with Mary Robinson, a daughter 
of Dr. Robinson, of North Adams. Their 
only child, Anna M., married Franklin Ed- 
wards, of Northampton ; and they have two 
sons. In politics Mr. Dickinson is a Repub- 
lican. He has satisfactorily served his con- 
stituents in the City Council, of which he 
was a member for five years, being its presid- 
ing officer two years. He is a Trustee for the 
Northampton Institution for Savings, and is 
a member and has been for several years an 
Assessor of the First Congregational Church. 



T^NHARLES RICHARDS, Town Clerk 
I j^ and Treasurer of Enfield, was born in 

^iL—- that town, September 30, 1818, son 
of Ephraim and Susanna (Chennery) Richards. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



241 



Mr. Richards's father was probably born in 
Ashford, Conn., in 1774. He settled in En- 
field in 18 12, and was one of the early manu- 
facturers of Enfield cloth. He also engaged 
in mercantile enterprise. He was a success- 
ful business man, accumulating a considerable 
amount of property; and he became promi- 
nent in public affairs. He was an anti- 
Mason, a Whig, and later a Republican. 
When the town of Enfield was incorporated, 
he was its first Treasurer, and held that office 
for three years. In 1820 or 1821 he served 
as a member of the Hoard of Selectmen. He 
was for several years a Representative to the 
General Court in Boston. Subsequently, de- 
siring to retire from public life, he made his 
wishes known to his constituents. These re- 
fused to allow his name to be withdrawn as a 
candidate, whereupon he agreed to treat the 
whole town if they would accede to his re- 
quest. This proposition was immediately ac- 
cepted, and it is alleged Air. E. Richards 
most religiously kept his promise. He was 
well informed upon all public issues of the 
day, and was a conscientious public official of 
the old school. He died in Enfield, aged 
eighty-eight years. His wife, who was born 
in Holclen, Mass., February 5, 1785, became 
the mother of nine children, eight of whom 
reached maturity; and four are now living. 
They were: Alona M. ; Fanny E., now Mrs. 
Babcock, and residing in Boston; George L. ; 
Susan P.; Charles; Charles, second, the sub- 
ject of this sketch; William H. ; Dexter N. ; 
and Isaac N. — the last three residents of Bos- 
ton. The mother died in 1872, aged eighty- 
seven years. 

Charles Richards received his education in 
the schools of West Brookfield and Southamp- 
ton. Upon the completion of his studies he 
served an apprenticeship at the jeweller's 
trade in Northampton; and, after remaining 



in that occupation for five years, feeble health 
caused him to suspend active employment. 
Upon his receiver) he engaged in mercantile 
business, and was also one of the organizers 
of the Hampshire Flax Company, with which 
he remained connected for three years. He 
conducted business in Enfield as a member of 
the firm of Bryant & Richards for about three 
years, at the expiration of which time he re- 
tired from the firm, and has since devoted his 
attention to public affairs. He was appointed 
a Justice of the Peace in 1S53, was an in- 
spector of the Monson almshouse in 1855 and 
1856, was appointed a Justice of the Peace 
and of the Quorum in 1S57, and on May 28, 
1864, became Trial Justice, an office which he 
held until the establishment of the District 
Court. He was appointed Coroner on April 23, 
1872; Notary Public in 1875, census enumera- 
tor for 1880, 18S5, and 1890, and is at present 
Town Clerk and Treasurer, a position which 
he has occupied since 1882. He has long 
been prominent in educational matters ami 
has served as a member of the School Board. 
Mr. Richards has been twice married. His 
first wife, whom he wedded September 21, 

1841, was Caroline Clark, of Northampton. 
She died January 5, 1S72, leaving four chil- 
dren, as follows: Charles E., who was born 
March 21, 1845, and resides in Waltham ; 
Edward S., born January 12, 1847, now a 
commercial traveller for a Boston firm; Jo- 
seph C, born January 1, 1857, an undertaker 
of Boston; and Fred B., born May 29, 1859, 
now a Congregational preacher in New York 
City. On December 18, 1.X72, Mr. Rich- 
ards married for his second wife Lorana S. 
Hunt. She wis born in Prescott, May 17, 

1842, daughter of Horace Hunt. Her father, 
who was born in New Salem, was engaged in 
mercantile pursuits for the greater part of his 
life. He died at an advanced age, and his 



242 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wife is now residing with a son in Athol. By 
their union Mr. and Mrs. Richards have two 
children, namely: Caroline C, who was 
born October 30, 1873, now a teacher in 
Huston; and Raymond H., born December 
9, 1877, attending school in Monson. 

Mr. Richards is one of the oldest and most 
widely known residents of Enfield. He has 
been an able and faithful public official for 
many years, and is still actively engaged in 
attending to public business. He sustains 
the time-honored title of Squire with dignity, 
and is a living landmark of the town. Mrs. 
Richards is at present serving upon the 
School Board, and is a member of the Congre- 
gational church. 

"AMES CLAPP, the owner of a choice 
farm in Ward Seven of Northampton, 
which with its fine residence and out- 
buildings commands the attention of the pass- 
er-by, was born here on March 27, 1827, son 
of Henry and Nancy (Root) Clapp. His 
grandfather, Thomas Clapp, of Westhamp- 
ton, died in 1795, while yet in the prime of 
life, leaving a widow and five children. Mrs. 
Thomas Clapp, who before marriage was a 
Miss Kellogg, died in her eightieth year. 

Henry Clapp, who was born November 5, 
1789, was a blacksmith by trade, and success- 
fully followed that vocation for many years at 
Roberts Meadow. He owned a farm of one 
hundred acres; and, being in other respects in 
good circumstances, toward the close of his 
long life he retired from active business. 
He died in 1882, at nearly ninety-three years 
of age. His wife, Nancy Root, was a daugh- 
ter of John Root, of Roberts Meadow. They 
were married August 17, 181 5; and during 
the years that followed their household circle 
was made cheerful and stirring by the advent 
of six sons, who became stalwart men with an 



average height of six feet. They were named : 
Edward, Nelson, Henry, Anson M., James, 
and John C. Their father in his younger days 
was also a man of fine physique, measuring 
five feet ten inches in height; but during his 
latter years he suffered from rheumatism, and 
was in consequence somewhat lame. Their 
mother died December 15, 1869, aged sev- 
enty-nine years. The remains of both parents 
are sleeping in the Northampton cemetery. 
Edward, who kept the Northampton toll-gate 
for many years, died April 28, 1867. He 
was the father of one son, Edward T. Clapp, 
now residing in Northampton. Nelson Clapp, 
a successful agriculturist of Westhampton, is 
unmarried. Henry Clapp, born in February, 
1822, died May 27, 1888, leaving no family. 
He, too, was a prosperous farmer. Anson 
Morris Clapp is a carpenter of Florence, Mass. 
John Chapin Clapp, who was born July 16, 
1 83 1, is a mechanic, residing in Florence. 

James Clapp remained with his parents on 
the homestead, received a good common-school 
education, and was reared to the vocation of 
a farmer. He is the owner of several hundred 
acres of good farming land, and, keeping a 
dairy of from twenty to twenty-five choice 
cows, makes a high grade of butter, which 
finds a ready sale among the best families of 
Northampton. His present commodious and 
attractive farm-house was built on the founda- 
tion of one that was burned in 1894; and the 
barn, which is one of the largest and best in 
this vicinity, was erected in 1883. 

Mr. Clapp was married October 11, i860, 
to Miss Juliette Amelia Miller, who was born 
in Williamsburg in 1835, and was the only 
daughter of Ebenezer and Hannah (Hunt) 
Miller, of Williamsburg and Belchertown, 
Mass. She had four brothers, of whom only 
one is now living — John Hunt Miller, of 
Marlboro, Mass. The father, a prosperous 




Mr. and Mrs. JAMES CLAPP. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



2 45 



farmer, died January 25, 1863, at fifty-nine 
years of age, and the mother on December 13, 
1873, at sixty-two years of age. Juliette A. 
Miller was educated in the high school and 
at the academies of Williamsburg and East- 
hampton, and before marriage was for some 
years a successful teacher. Her brothers 
also enjoyed good educational advantages, 
and John Hunt Miller taught school in his 
younger days. Edwin Harrison Miller, her 
eldest brother, was a Lieutenant Commander 
in the United States Navy, and was stationed 
"ii the Mediterranean Sea during the greater 
part of the Civil War. 

Mr. and Mrs. Clapp have three children: 
Henry Miller, Annah Juliette, and James 
Root. Henry Miller Clapp, a farmer in 
Westhampton, now president of the water 
works and one of the leading young men of 
the town, which he has served acceptably as 
Selectman, is also active in church work, and 
is President of the Christian Endeavor Soci- 
ety. He married Miss Aurelia Montague, a 
graduate of South Hadley Academy, who was 
for several years a teacher in Northampton; 
and they are the parents of a son and daugh- 
ter — Myron Miller Clapp and Esther Parsons 
Clapp — the whole family being members of 
the Congregational church at Westhampton. 
Annah Juliette Clapp is the wife of Dr. 
William L. Higgins, of South Coventry, 
Conn. James Root Clapp, a young man of 
twenty-three years, who was educated in 
Northampton, is unmarried, and resides at 
home. Mrs. Clapp has been a member of the 
Congregational church since she was sixteen 
years of age. 

vj^D/lLLIAM A. SMITH was born Feb- 

VpV ruary 24, 1825, in the town of 

Granby, where he holds an honored 

position among the men of the place. As a 



worthy representative of the citizen-soldier 
element of Hampshire County, he is deserv- 
ing of special mention in this biographical 
volume. His parents, Medad and Pamela 
(Dickinson) Smith, were born and bred in 
Granby, and, with the exception of six years 
spent at Chicopee Falls, were residents of the 
place until their death. The father, a farmer 
by occupation, after his return from Chicopee 
bought the farm now owned and occupied by 
his son. Here both he and his wife spent 
their last days, her death occurring April 4, 
1842, and his April 20, 1858. They had a 
family of nine children, namely: Edmund, 
Abigail, Irene, Edmund (second), Harriet, 
and Emma, deceased; and Lucas, William, 
and Elizabeth living. 

Mr. Smith, the subject of this sketch, ob- 
tained a substantial common-school education 
in the district and high schools of his native 
town. On attaining his majority he left 
home, and for two years worked by the month 
for neighboring farmers. Having saved some 
money, he subsequently purchased the old 
home, where, with the exception of the time 
he spent in the army, he has since lived. At 
the time he bought it the farm contained but 
thirty acres; but as the years rolled on he- 
added more land, so that now his property 
contains one hundred and forty acres, being 
at the same time in a good state of cultiva- 
tion. 

On August 25, 1S62, Mr. Smith enlisted 
in the service of his country. He was mus- 
tered in as Third Sergeant of Company II. 
Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteer In- 
fantry, under Captain Perkins, the regiment 
being commanded by Colonel Green leaf. In 
December, [862, he, with his comrades, left 
New York, going to Ship Island, where they 
joined the division commanded by General 
N. P. Banks. Proceeding to the mouth of 



-'I'' 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the Mississippi, they landed at New Orleans, 
going thence to Baton Rouge, where they 
remained some time. His company was then 
stationed at Plaquemine for five weeks, 
whence they marched to Port Hudson, where 
a slight skirmish ensued. A detachment was 
then ordered to St. Gabriel, and, after a stay 
of eight days, to Donaldsonville; thence they 
went to Brashear City, where they embarked on 
a steamer going up Grand Lake. Their next 
destination was Opelousas, and then Barrett's 
Landing, where they narrowly escaped capt- 
ure by the rebels. Returning to Brashear City, 
they found themselves pursued by the enemy, 
but reached the place in safety by means of 
night marches. The regiment afterward went 
back to Baton Rouge, and then to Port Hud- 
son, where the enemy surrendered. Although 
the term of enlistment expired on July g, 
1863, the men remained on duty until July 
23, when the company embarked, and sailed 
up the river to Cairo, 111., where they boarded 
the cars for Greenfield, Mass. There, on 
August 14, 1863, Mr. Smith received his 
honorable discharge, and at once returned to 
his family. 

On November 24, 1859, Mr. Smith was 
married to Miss Caroline Miller, a native of 
Ludlow, Hampden County, and daughter of 
Zebina and Polly Miller. She had four chil- 
dren, namely: Hattie; May; Edwin, who 
died at the age of ten years; and Carrie. She 
died July 23, 1886. A Republican in poli- 
tics, Mr. Smith is a stanch advocate of the 
principles of that party. He has been Select- 
man of the town for several years, and has 
also filled the office of Assessor. He is a 
member of the Charles C. Smith Post, No. 
83, of South Hadley Falls, which he has 
served as Junior Vice-Commander, Senior 
Vice-Commander, and also as Chaplain. Re- 
ligiously, he is a valued member of the Con- 



gregational church, in which he has acted for 
a score of years as Deacon. 



TTAHARLES MILTON KINNEY, a re- 
I >j tired marble and monument dealer of 

V^|f__^ Northampton, was born in the town 
of Sunderland, Bennington County, Vt., in 
181 8. He traces his descent to Sir Thomas 
Kinney, a nobleman of England. 

His grandparents were Benjamin and 
Martha (Harris) Kinney. Benjamin, who 
was a carpenter and joiner, came from Eng- 
land to this country, settling in Connecticut; 
ami his wife was a native of Norwich, Conn. 
Their union was blessed by the birth of a 
son and daughter. The son, whose name was 
Joel Kinney, received a mechanical education 
from his father. He took an interest in pub- 
lic affairs, was a Democrat in politics, was for 
thirty years a Justice of the Peace, served ac- 
ceptably as a member of the legislature of 
Vermont, and held many town offices. He 
married Miss Clarissa Ford, a daughter of 
Charles and Annie (Harris) Ford. Though 
both of Mr. Kinney's grandmothers bore the 
name of Harris, they were not related. His 
parents were married January 15, 18 14. 
They lost their first-born, a son, and two other 
children. They reared three sons and two 
daughters, of whom two sons and a daughter 
are now living: F. J., Charles Milton, and 
Laura. Benjamin Kinney, deceased, born in 
1820, became a sculptor, and won for himself 
quite a reputation in his art. His specialty 
was the cutting of busts, both in marble and 
in cameo. He was also a man of literary 
talent, besides possessing a natural gift for 
his chosen profession. F. J. Kinney, who 
resides in Worcester, Mass., is one of the 
leading market gardeners and florists of that 
city, and also devotes considerable attention 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



247 



to fruit-growing. One of his sons, Lorenzo 
F. Kinney, is Professor of Horticulture in the 
Agricultural College of Rhode Island. He 
went to Europe to complete his education, 
and ranks high as a teacher in that branch of 
study. Laura Kinney, who never married, 
is now upward of eighty years of age, and is 
living on the old farm on which their parents 
spent their lives. 

Charles Milton received a good, practical 
education in the common schools. When in 
his eighteenth year, he taught school for one 
winter in Mexico, N.Y. He then learned the 
trade of a marble cutter in Pittsfield, Mass., 
where, when he had served an apprenticeship 
>)t six months, he was engaged at two dollars 
per day. He seems to have inherited his 
father's skill; for he made such progress in 
his chosen avocation that some years later, 
in 1N45, he was able to open his shop in 
Northampton. Here he conducted a thriving 
business for thirty years, and then retired 
from active participation in mercantile life. 
He is a member of the Northampton Grange, 
and he and his wife are members of the Uni- 
tarian Society. 

He was married on June 1, 1842, at Barre, 
Mass., to Miss Submit Walker, of that place. 
Her mother was a cousin of General Samuel 
Lee, of Revolutionary fame. Six sons and 
two daughters were born of their union. 
Two sons died in infancy. Martha Ann, the 
wife of Thomas L. Irwin, died in 1SS2, leav- 
ing one son, Phillip L. Irwin, who is now a 
lad of thirteen years, and has lived with his 
maternal grandparents since his mother's 
death. His father died December 19, 1892, 
at thirty-nine years of age. 

A brief account of the living children fol- 
lows: Albert is a successful dealer in monu- 
mental work in Milford, Mass. Charles 
Walker, who was born in Northampton on 



August 15, 1845, succeeded his father at the 
head of the firm. He is President of the 
City Water Board, and has served with honor 
on the Common Council. He was married in 
1872 to Miss Eva M. Collins, of Springfield, 
Mass., who died in 1879. He was again 
married in 1880 to his present wife, who was 
Miss Harriet J. Annable, by whom he has 
one son, Charles M., a youth of thirteen 
years, who is attending school. Fred Kin- 
ney is a piano tuner and a performer on the 
flute. Edward is a book-keeper in Holyoke, 
Mass.; and Ella Lee, the wife of William H. 
Abbott, of Holyoke, has three sons and three 
daughters. 

Mr. Kinney erected a home on Phillips 
Place, where he resided for fifteen years; and 
in i860 he purchased a farm of thirteen acres 
on Prospect Street, near Dickinson Hospital, 
where he built a fine brick house and outbuild- 
ings, and set out some choice fruit and shade 
trees, which have now grown into an orchard 
that produces a good variety and quantity of 
apples, pears, grapes, and other fruits. He 
lived there for thirty-two years, celebrating 
with his wife their golden wedding on June 1, 
1892. Among the many tokens of regard left 
them by their numerous friends and acquaint- 
ances on this occasion were a gold-headed 
cane from the Northampton Grange and a side- 
board from their children. Mr. Kinney sold 
his farm in the September following, and pur- 
chased his present home at 134 King Street. 



«-» • •» * 




ILLIAM E. COONEY, a promi- 
nent citizen of Northampton, was 
born in Haydenville, Hampshire 
County, Mass., November [3, 1855, son of 
Michael and Rosanna (Martin) Cooney and 
grandson of William Cooney, a farmer in 
County Tipperary, Ireland. 



248 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



William Cooney died in his prime, of ty- 
phoid fever, leaving a widow, five daughters, 
and one son, who emigrated to America in 
1840. Four of the daughters are yet living 
in Chicago, 111., and in Massachusetts. The 
family made the voyage in a sailing-vessel, 
consuming nine tedious weeks. Shortly after 
his arrival on American soil Michael Cooney, 
the father of William E., found work as a 
laborer in Brooklyn. Subsequently he re- 
moved to Leeds, Mass., where he was em- 
ployed in the woollen-mill, and later entered 
the button factory in Haydenville, where 
japanned buttons were manufactured. Find- 
ing that outdoor work suited him best, he en- 
gaged in trucking, doing the teaming for the 
cotton company and the brass company. He 
was an enterprising and successful man, and 
at his death owned a good home in Hayden- 
ville, besides considerable other property. 
In politics he was a Democrat, a leading man 
in the party. He died in 1883, at the age of 
sixty-three years. Mrs. Cooney was a native 
of King's County, Ireland, and was married 
in Chicopee in 1845. She died December 
31, 1S91, in her sixty-fourth year. She and 
her husband were the parents of five daugh- 
ters and two sons, namely: Katie, who died 
in childhood; Rose, wife of William D. Lar- 
kin, of Haydenville, who has passed away, 
leaving one daughter; Michael E., proprietor 
of the Hotel Florence; Ella, in the miliinery 
business at Northampton, successor to Cooney 
& Larkin; William E., the subject of this 
sketch; Lizzie, wife of Thomas H. Gilfoil, 
proprietor of the City Hotel; Anna, wife of 
John T. Keating, an attorney in Northamp- 
ton. 

William E. Cooney received his early edu- 
cation in the common schools of the town, 
and at fifteen entered the office of the North- 
ampton Free Press as "printer's devil." He 



served an apprenticeship of three years, and 
afterward worked at the case nine years. In 
1877, in company with John T. Dewey, he 
opened the Nonatuck House, now the City 
Hotel. In this hotel he was interested four 
years, Mr. Dewey in the meantime selling his 
share to William D. Larkin. In 1881 Mr. 
Cooney, in company with Mr. Parnell, opened 
a wholesale liquor store, under the firm name 
of Parnell & Cooney; and the enterprise 
proved to be a very profitable one. In 1895 
Mr. Parnell bought the entire business, and 
Mr. Cooney retired. 

On November 18, 1874, Mr. Cooney was 
married to Kate, daughter of John and Mary 
(Powers) Roach, of Waterford, N.Y. Mrs. 
Roach died when quite young, leaving four 
children, the youngest, Mrs. Cooney, being 
but two years old. Mr. and Mrs. Cooney 
have lost one son, Martin James, who died 
when two years old. Their other children 
are as follows: Michael M., a young man of 
nineteen, who is engaged in the manufacture 
of bricks; William S. and Austin E., aged 
respectively eleven and eight years; and 
Bernard Joseph, two years old. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cooney are members of the Roman Catholic 
church. Their pleasant home, which is 
situated at the corner of Park and State 
Streets, was erected by Mr. Cooney in 1883. 
Mr. Cooney is a man of diversified knowledge, 
having travelled extensively in the West and 
South, especially in Texas, New Mexico, and 
Minnesota. 




LIVER H. CURTIS, an old resident 
and a well-to-do farmer of Amherst, 
was born in Willington, Tolland 
County, Conn., March 30, 181 1, son of Will- 
iam and Mary (Holt) Curtis. Mr. Curtis's 
father was a native of Connecticut, who fol- 
lowed the trades of tanner and shoemaker the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



249 



greater part of his life. He owned a farm of 
one hundred acres in Willington, which his 
sons conducted. He died in Willington, aged 
eighty-six years. He was a member of the 
Congregational church. His wife, who was 
a native of Willington, became the mother of 
nine children, as follows: Sanford, William, 
Horace, Sarah H., A 1 ford, Wilson W., and 
Harvey, all of whom are now dead; Oliver 
H., the subject of this sketch; and Selden 
Curtis, who resides in New London, Conn. 
The mother died at the age of eighty-eight. 

Oliver H. Curtis grew to manhood in Will- 
ington, Conn., and was educated in the 
schools of that town. He followed agricult- 
ure and other occupations until 1S39, when he 
moved to Amherst, anil bought the farm 
where he now resides. His property consists 
of one hundred and thirty-seven acres, which 
he conducted with satisfactory results until 
his retirement from active labor. He is a 
Republican in politics. 

On November 14, 1837, Mr. Curtis was 
united in marriage to Emily Hills. She was 
born in Ellington, daughter of Leonard and 
Mary (Ladd) Hills. Four of her children are 
now living, namely: Chiara Ann, who resides 
in Florence; Emily A., who resides at home; 
Frank O., who is a resident of Amherst; and 
Samuel H., who resides at Hartford, Conn. 
Mrs. Curtis died March 27, 1888. 

Mr. Curtis has been an energetic and suc- 
cessful farmer. He is highly esteemed by the 
community, and is the oldest resident in his 
neighborhood. 



KYSANDER THURSTON, a well- 
known resident of Enfield and one of 
^^ the most enterprising and successful 
farmers of the town, was born in Pelham, 
Hampshire County, on May 25, 1837, son of 
James and Maria (Gleason) Thurston. 



Grandfather Thurston was a native of Litch- 
field, Conn; but both he and his father re- 
moved to Pelham, Mass., of which they were 
early settlers. James Thurston was born in 
Pelham, February 8, 1787. At an early age 
he turned his attention to agriculture, an 1 
engaged in it near his birthplace until about 
1846, when he removed to Enfield, and settled 
on the farm now occupied by two of his sons. 
He died there on April 7. 1866. On relig- 
ious questions he was liberal. He gave con- 
siderable attention to town affairs, and served 
the town acceptably as Selectmin and in other 
capacities. In 1843 he was elected to the 
State legislature. He cast the vote which 
elected Governor Morton, although at the 
time he was in a condition that made it neces- 
sary to carry him to the polling-place upon a 
stretcher. As a souvenir of that event his 
Democratic friends shortly after presented him 
with a cane. 

He was twice married. Three children 
were born of the first union and six of the 
second. Six still survive; namely, Susan 
M., Olive, Almira, Royal G., Lysander, and 
Jason. Those deceased were: John T. ; 
James; and Philander, who was born in 1837, 
and was the twin brother of Lysander. After 
graduating from Amherst College, Philander 
Thurston took a theological course at Andover 
Seminary. Soon after he engaged in preach- 
ing; and of his pastoral charges, all of which 
were in New England, the longest was that 
at Dorchester, Mass., where he remained for 
eleven years. During his lifetime he visited 
Europe. His last days were spent in Enfield, 
where he died, fifty-six years of age. His 
mother's death occurred on the same date as 
that on which his father died — April 7, 
1866. 

Lysander Thurston acquired his education 
in the public schools of Pelham and Enfield, 



250 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



after which he attended Monson Academy. 
During the next ten winters he engaged in 
teaching; but he has since confined his atten- 
tion to farming, in company with his brother 
Jason, who is three years younger than he. 

They have two hundred and fifty acres of 
land, the tillage portion of which is kept in 
good condition. They raise a variety of 
grains, make a specialty of apples and other 
fruit, and also do a good dairy business. 
Their residence and general farm buildings 
are all in fine condition, and everything about 
the place betokens their thrift and enterprise. 
Neither of the brothers has ever married. 

In politics Lysander Thurston is a Demo- 
crat, and was chosen a member of the legis- 
lature in 1890-91. He has also been active 
in town affairs, has been Assessor, and for 
nine terms has been a Selectman. Jason 
Thurston is also a Democrat. Regarding re- 
ligious questions, both brothers hold liberal 
opinions. 

1 m ■ m » 

OSEl'H HEBERT, contractor and 
builder, manufacturer of lumber, and 
dealer in all kinds of builders' mate- 
rials in Northampton, is a Canadian by birth 
and breeding, Montreal being the city of his 
nativity, and 1854 the year of his birth. He 
comes of French ancestry, his grandfather, 
Francis Hebert, having been a native of 
France, coming to Montreal as a government 
official, and being High Sheriff of the city of 
Quebec at the time of his death. He married 
Josephine Palmer, native of Boston, who lived 
more than a century, dying in Montreal at the 
remarkable age of one hundred and one years 
and two months, and retaining full possession 
of her faculties to the last. She bore her 
husband sixteen children, of whom her son 
Nelson was the father of Joseph Hebert. 

Nelson Hebert was born in Montreal, Can- 



ada, in 1826, and lived there during the ear- 
lier years of his life. He was a carpenter and 
builder by trade, and was engaged in these 
occupations in Northampton for some years, 
after which he went to Jamestown, N. Dak., 
where he established a successful business, 
building some of its finest residences and 
business blocks. Subsequently he returned 
to this city, where he died March 16, 1895, 
at the home of his son Joseph, leaving a hand- 
some property to his heirs. He married 
Christiana Derwent, a native of Montreal, 
born in 1827, who now makes her home with 
her son Joseph. She is the mother of ten 
children, one of whom died when a little lad 
of two years. The others are all married, and 
one son is a prominent resident of Dakota. 

Joseph Hebert is the second son and the 
fourth child of Nelson Hebert, and attended 
the common schools of his native city until 
he was eleven years old, when his parents re- 
moved to Northampton, where he has since 
resided. When thirteen years old, he began 
working at his present business with his 
father and a Mr. Stetson, and has since con- 
tinued in the same occupation. Beginning to 
make contracts when a youth of sixteen years, 
his business faculties, which are naturally of 
a high order, have been well developed. By 
a strict attention to his business and honor- 
able methods in his dealings he has won an 
extensive trade, and accumulated a large prop- 
erty. He established his well-equipped lum- 
ber yard in the winter of 1883, building the 
three sheds, one of them three stories in 
height and two hundred and twelve feet long. 

In 1887 Mr. Hebert built his fine brick 
office, and put in his steam-mill, with which 
he manufactures lumber, laths, and shingles. 
He keeps on hand a complete assortment of 
lumber and building material, and employs 
from one hundred to one hundred and seventy- 




JOSEPH H. KINGSLEY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



2 53 



five men. Mr. Hebert has also other valuable 
property. He owns seventeen tenement- 
houses, besides two blocks in the business 
part of the city — one occupied by Lee's 
Hotel and the other by the Bay State House. 
Besides his own residence at 42 Cherry Street 
he has also two residences in Ware. 

Mr. Hebert was united in marriage in 1874 
to Delphine Beauregard, who, with her only 
child, died within a few years. He subse- 
quently married Mary Beauregard, a sister of 
his first wife; and of the seven children born 
to them but two are now living. These are: 
Rudolph, in college in Canada; and Paul, a 
little lad of seven years. In his politics Mr. 
Hebert is independent of party. He is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias and of the 
St. John the Baptist's Society. Religiously, 
he is a French Catholic, being one of the 
founders and strong supporters of that church 
in Northampton. 



-•-***-•. 



OSEPH H. KINGSLEY is numbered 
among the intelligent and enterprising 
citizens of Southampton who are con- 
ducting farming operations with skill and suc- 
cess. He carries on general husbandry with 
extensive stock-raising and dairying, being a 
typical Hampshire County farmer. He was 
born on December 27, 1833. 

His father, Zenas Kingsley, was a native of 
Westhampton, born in 1805, and for twenty- 
five years was engaged in the manufacture of 
woollen goods, owning a mill at Northampton. 
He subsequently removed to Stratford, N.H., 
where he carried on a successful lumber busi- 
ness until his death, in 1881. His wife, 
Susan Elwell, a native of Westhampton, died 
at the age of forty-four years. Nine children 
were born to them, namely: Susan Melissa, 
now the wife of H. M. Parsons, residing on a 



farm in Westhampton: Edward W., also liv- 
ing at Westhampton; Joseph H., already 
named, of whom some further account is given 
below, and whose portrait also appears in this 
connection; Cynthia S., deceased; Zenas, 
who lost his life while in his country's service 
in the war of the Rebellion; Nelson Howard, 
a ranchman in California; Ellen Victoria, the 
widow of the late Enoch Perkins; Justus Hol- 
land and Fidelia M., both residents of Loud- 
ville. 

Joseph H. Kingsley was reared on the pa- 
ternal homestead, and assisted in its manage- 
ment for many years, living there some two 
years after his marriage with Elmina Norton, 
their union having been solemnized June 19, 

1862. Mrs. Kingsley was born February 5, 
1839, at Rochester, N.Y., whither her father, 
Horace Norton, had removed from Westhamp- 
ton, the place of his birth, afterward making 
his home in Loudville. Three years after his 
marriage Mr. Kingsley bought his present 
farm, then containing one hundred and twenty 
acres of land, and placed it in a tillable con- 
dition. The soil has responded to his labors, 
and yields bountifully of the productions com- 
mon to this section of the county, his more 
important crops being corn, tobacco, and hay. 
He has a large dairy, and realizes a handsome 
income from the sale of milk and cream. In 
recent years Mr. Kingsley has bought other 
land, his whole estate now aggregating three 
hundred acres, a portion lying in Westhamp- 
ton, and some of his landed property being in 
Minnesota. 

The following is a record of children of Mr. 
and Mrs. Kingsley; Horace Norton, born in 

1863, died the next year; Nellie Howard, the 
wife of Mr. Edwin Clapp, of Westhampton, 
having two children, Raymond and Roger W. ; 
Dwight H., born in 1S66, a resident of South- 
ampton; Edith Marian, born May 19, 1870; 



'54 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Arthur Zenas, born in 1875; Delia E., born 
in 1875; and Georgia E., born in 1883. 
Dwight H. Kingsley has been married twice, 
his first wife, Hattie Powers, having died in 
early womanhood,, leaving one child, Harry J. 
By his second wife, Florence Shelden, he has 
two children, Florence E. and Burton A. 

Mr. Joseph H. Kingsley is a strong Repub- 
lican, being a firm believer in the principles 
sustained by that organization, and, though 
not an aspirant for political office, served his 
town most acceptably from 1886 until 1890 as 
Selectman and Assessor. He and his wife 
are faithful members of the Congregational 
church. 



T^tHARLES N. POWERS, a well-known 
1 jp farmer of Greenwich and formerly a 
V*i£^^- prominent builder, was born in that 
town, December 10, 1821, son of Stephen and 
Rebecca (Manley) Powers. Mr. Powers's 
great-grandfather was one of the first ancestors 
of the family to locate in Hampshire County; 
and his son Stephen, Mr. Powers's grand- 
father, was an early settler in New Salem. 

Stephen Powers, Sr., served as a Lieuten- 
ant in the Revolutionary War; and, after re- 
tiring from the service, he resided upon a 
farm within the territory now covered by the 
town of Prescott. He was a sturdy, industri- 
ous farmer, a prominent man of his day; and 
he died at the age of about eighty years. He 
married Elizabeth Hines, who lived to reach 
an advanced age. Their family consisted of 
six children, who severally became the heads 
of families, and of whom Stephen Powers, Jr., 
Mr. Powers's father, was the second-born. 

Stephen Powers, Jr., was born in New 
Salem, now Prescott, in 1790. He was reared 
to agriculture; and, when a young man, he 
settled upon a large farm in the northern part 
cf Greenwich. He was a stirring, energetic 



man, and attained a position of comfort and 
prosperity. He died at the age of sixty-nine 
years. His wife, Rebecca Manley before 
marriage, who was born in 1789, became the 
mother of five children, as follows: Catherine 
M. Turtelotte, who died aged seventy years; 
Chandler M., who resides in Greenwich; 
Otis A., who resides in Westfield, Mass.; 
Philenia E., a resident of Worcester; and 
Charles N., the subject of this sketch. She 
died at the age of eighty-three. She was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Charles N. Powers, commencing his educa- 
tion in the schools of Greenwich, completed 
his studies at the select school in Prescott. 
He taught school for two terms, and then 
learned the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
lowed as an occupation in connection with 
farming for many years. In the course of 
time he became a master builder, and erected 
many fine residences in Greenwich and the 
adjacent towns, which are still standing to 
bear testimony as to the excellence of his 
work. He succeeded to the ownership of the 
old homestead, where he resided for over sixty 
years; and he successfully conducted the farm 
until 1884, when he moved to his present 
home. He still retains possession of a 
greater part of the older property, which origi- 
nally contained one hundred and fifty acres. 
He is a Republican in politics, and has served 
with ability in various positions of responsi- 
bility and trust. He has been a member of 
the Board of Selectmen for several terms, was 
Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and a member 
of the School Committee, and is at the pres- 
ent time serving as Town Auditor. 

Mr. Powers married Rebecca W. Wood, a 
native of Prescott and daughter of Ira and 
Lydia Wood, whose ancestors were early set- 
tlers in that town. Mr. and Mrs. Powers 
have one son living — namely, C. A. — and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



*55 



an adopted daughter, Ella L. C. A. Powers 
is an enterprising business man of Greenwich, 
who has succeeded his father in the manage- 
ment of the farm. He is station agent, and 
also deals in coal, wood, hay, etc. He mar- 
ried Sarah Scott, and has four children, three 
of whom are living: namely, Harry A., Mar- 
ion R., and Clara A. Ella L. Powers is now 
the wife of C. A. Wheeler, and resides in 
Athol, Mass. Mrs. Powers is now deceased; 
and Mr. Powers has retired from active occu- 
pation in favor of his son, and is now resting 
from the cares of a busy and useful life. 




RANK R. McLELLAN, a well-known 
farmer and blacksmith of Cummington, 
was born in Westbrook, Me., October 
8, 1852, son of Samuel E. and Sarah E. 
(Babb) McLellan. Mr. McLellan's grandpar- 
ents, William and Mehitable (Libby) McLel- 
lan, were natives of Gorham, Me., the former 
of whom was a large land-owner and stock - 
raiser. He also engaged in lumbering, and 
ime a prominent man. William and Me- 
hitable McLellan died at an advanced age. 
Their children were: Hugh, Ishmael, Martha, 
William, John, Eunice, Samuel E., Alexan- 
der, and Arthur. 

Samuel E. McLellan, father of Mr. McLel- 
lan, was born in Gorham, Me., and, when a 
young man, learned the trade of a blacksmith. 
He located in Westbrook, where he success- 
fully followed his trade for a period of forty 
years. He owned a residence and other prop- 
erty in the town. He also had a farm ; and, as 
his smis grew up, they were trained to farming 
as well as to the blacksmith's trade. He be- 
came prominent in public affairs, serving as a 
member of the Board of Selectmen, and was an 
active member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Samuel E. McLellan's first wife, 



Sarah E. Babb before marriage, was a daugh- 
ter of John Babb. She died at the age of 
thirty-three, leaving five children: Daniel, 
Henry, Frank R., William E., and Charles J. 
Samuel E. McLellan married for his second 
wife Rosabel Bacon ; and she had one child, 
named Winfield. 

Frank R. McLellan was educated in the 
schools of Westbrook, and at the age of fifteen 
commenced to learn the blacksmith's trade 
with his father. When twenty-three years of 
age he came to Cummington ; and, after work- 
ing five years for C. D. Bartlett, he engaged 
in business for himself, occupying quarters in 
the Stevens Building, where he remained until 
burned out. After this he purchased the 
Cowen barn on Main Street, fitted it up as a 
shop, and has since carried on the principal 
blacksmith's business of the town. Subse- 
quently he bought the Congregational parson- 
age, where he now resides, and has since 
remodelled and otherwise improved it. He 
also owns the Lovell lot, a valuable piece of 
meadow land in Cummington, and a small 
farm in Chesterfield, which he uses mostly for 
pasturage and its hay crop. Mr. McLellan 
is a Republican in politics, and is highly 
respected by his townsmen. 

On June 30, 1873, he was united in mar- 
riage to Ida S. Stevens. She is a daughter of 
Nathan S. and Sybil (Cowen) Stevens. Mr. 
and Mrs. McLellan have two children, namely: 
Arlin S. , who was born May 20, 1875, and is 
now a sailor in the merchant marine service ; 
and Leroy F., born February 23, 1877, who 
has charge of his father's farming interests. 



HARLES E. HERRICK, a machinist 
and manufacturer in Northampton, was 
born here, January 17, 1843, son of 
Webster and Melissa (Strong) Herrick. 




BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



His father, Webster Herrick, was born 
November 7, 181 1, in Sangerfield, Oneida 
County, N.Y., but was reared in Worth ington, 
Mass. From there, when a lad of fifteen 
years, he came to Northampton to learn the 
cabinet-maker's trade. He was one of four 
children born to Joseph and Jerusha (Parsons) 
Herrick, of Worthington. His father died in 
early life; and his mother subsequently mar- 
ried a Mr. Stowell, by whom she reared an- 
other family of children. She died in Peru, 
Berkshire County, at the venerable age of 
ninety-six years. Webster Herrick became 
very expert, almost an artist, in his cabinet 
work. Some of his handiwork is seen in the 
pulpit, communion table, and the chairs of the 
Edwards Church, which was dedicated in 
1833. He travelled for some time, working at 
his trade when the opportunity offered. He 
was in Charleston, S. C. , in 1834, and in 
South America in 1835 and 1836. Returning 
North he opened a machine shop on the site of 
the Lamb Wire Works, Northampton, in 1840. 
lie remained there fourteen years, after which 
he built the large brick shop where his son, the 
subject, Charles E. , carries on his business. 
He did a general line of mechanical and ma- 
chine work, putting up one of the very first cir- 
cular saw-mills in Massachusetts. He erected 
saw-mills in many different States of the Union, 
building about seven hundred in all, one year 
making as many as twenty-five to go South, in 
the interest of the American Machine Works of 
Springfield, Mass. He was married in 1840 
to Melissa Strong, who died January 25, 1876, 
on the night of the Northampton Bank rob- 
bery, leaving but one child, Charles E., the 
subject of this sketch. Her husband survived 
lie)- many years, dying August 2, 1892. He 
was a man of high moral principles and a 
strong advocate of the temperance cause. Pie 
was very patriotic and was prevented from tak- 



ing an active part in the Civil War only by his 
lameness, from which he suffered from his 
boyhood. Both he and his wife were es- 
teemed members of the First Church. 

Charles E. Herrick had excellent educa- 
tional advantages; but he did not choose to 
avail himself of them, preferring to enter his 
father's workshop, where he might exercise his 
mechanical talent and ingenuity. Succeeding 
to his father's shop and trade, he has continued 
the business, doing general jobbing and mak- 
ing a specialty of paper-folding machines and 
other devices. 

The union of Mr. Herrick with Emma W. , 
daughter of Roswell and Roxana (Hunt) Hub- 
bard, of this city, was celebrated in October, 
1864. They had two children: Edward W. 
and Annie. Edward W. , who was graduated 
from the Boston School of Technology in 
1888, is a mechanical engineer in New York 
City. Annie married L. B. Cipeland, of 
Omaha, Neb. ; and they have one daughter. 
The mother of Mrs. Herrick was a daughter of 
Luther and Eunice (Alvord) Hunt. She was 
a finely educated woman, being a graduate of 
the Ipswich Academy, and afterward a teacher 
in the Bridge Street School and later in 
schools of Mobile and Tuscaloosa, Ala. ( )f 
her union with Mr. Hubbard three daughters 
were born, namely: Anna, who died at the age 
of ten years; Helen, who died when fourteen 
years old ; and Emma W. , wife of Mr. Herrick. 
She was for many years a singer in the choir 
of the Congregational church, having a very 
sweet and flexible voice. Mr. Hubbard was 
prominent in local affairs, and served as a 
member of the legislature. His wife outlived 
him many years, dying in 1892, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Herrick occupy the house at 20 Greene Street, 
in which her mother lived for upward of thirty 
years. Mrs. Plerrick, who is an accomplished 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



-'57 



and cultivated lady, was educated at the Maple- 
wood Institute in Pittsfield, and has inherited 
the musical talent of her mother, being a fine 
pianist and, before she lost her health, a 
beautiful soprano singer. 



4-»*»-* 




jILTON S. HOWES, a prosperous 
farmer and produce dealer of Swift 
River, and a member of the Board 
of Selectmen of the town of Cummington, was 
born in Ashfield, Mass., February 14, 1857, 
sun of Jonathan and Betsey (Williams) Howes. 
Mr. Howes's grandparents were Micajah and 
Roxanna (Cranston) Howes. 

Jonathan Howes, Mr. Howes's father, was 
born in Hawley, Franklin County, Mass., 
April 5, 1S08, and received his education in 
the town of Ashfield. In company with 
Nathan Williams, his wife's brother, he pur- 
chased a farm consisting of one hundred and 
sixty acres situated in Ashfield, where he fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits until his death, 
which occurred on January 2;. [860, in the 
fifty-second year of his age. Jonathan Howes 
was originally a Whig in politics, but later 
joined the Republican party. He was a re- 
spected citizen and a member of the Congre- 
gational church. His wife, Betsey Williams, 
was born March 29, 181 7, daughter of Nathan 
Williams. She became the mother of eleven 
children, all of whom are now living, and are 
named as follows: Annis, Roxanna, Betsey S., 
Willis W., II. Maria, Augusta M., Harlan P., 
John L. , Micajah J., Isabelle E., and Milton 
S. Mrs. Betsey W. Howes still survives and 
resides in Ashfield. 

Milton S. Howes attended the schools of 
Ashfield, and at the age of twenty went to 
Florence, Mass., where he was employed in a 
meat market for one year. He then returned 
to Ashfield and engaged in the produce busi- 



ness with his brother John L. , buying farm 
products, which they shipped to Holyoke for a 
market. In March, 1886, he sold his interest 
in that enterprise to his brother and came to 
Swift River, where he has since been engaged 
in the same business. He is one of the Direc- 
tors of the Cummington Creamer}' Association, 
and markets six hundred pounds of their prod- 
uct weekly. He conducts the J. Willcutt 
farm of three hundred acres, keeping twelve 
cow-,, some valuable young stock, and four 
horses which are constantly upon the road. 
His principal market is the city of Northamp- 
ton, where he supplies many families with 
fresh country produce. Mr. Howes is a Re- 
publican in politics, and has been a Selectman 
of the town of Cummington for the past five 
years. 

On March 19, 1879, Mr. Howes was united 
in marriage to Linda E. Willcutt. She is a 
daughter of Jesse and Mary (Dyer) Willcutt, 
the former of whom is a retired farmer of 
Swift River. Mr. and Mrs. Howes have four 
children, namely: Jesse M., born March 2, 
1880; Howard M., bom February 21, 1884; 
Almon D. , born July 7, 1887; and Bessie L. , 
born February 6, 1893. In religion Mr. 
Howes is of the Baptist faith, and Mrs. Howes 
is a member of the Congregational church. 




DWIN CYRUS MILLER, teller of the 
First National Bank and a highly re- 
spected citizen of Northampton, was 
born May 10, 1868, at Haydenville, on the old 
farm which has been in the family over one 
hundred and sixty years. He is a direct de- 
scendant of one of the oldest families of this 
county. 

His great-great-grandfather, John Miller, 
was the first settler of Williamsburg, Mass. 
In his early manhood he spent considerable 



2 5 8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



time in hunting and trapping. On his excur- 
sions for these purposes he became acquainted 
with the locality, whereabout the year 1735 
he purchased nine hundred acres of heavily 
timbered land, paying one dollar per acre. 
He erected the log house which was his first 
home in the wilderness, on the hill near where 
a grandson and namesake afterward lived. A 
year or two later he built a frame house, the 
fust erected in that town, and which stood 
until about 1 S79. Mr. Miller was a man of 
powerful physique, capable of great endurance 
and toil, and one who found keen enjoyment 
in the primitive frontier life which he had 
chosen. Of game, both large and small, there 
was an abundance ; and the rivers and streams 
were alive with fish of various kinds. Danger, 
however, sometimes menaced his isolated 
home, for there were roving bands of somewhat 
hostile Indians; and some of his experiences 
were must romantic and thrilling. The Con- 
necticut Valley History of 1879 has a full and 
interesting account of the Millers and of Mr. 
Fairfield. Mr. Fairfield, who was the second 
to settle in the district, was a kinsman of the 
Millers. Coming seventeen years later, he 
established his home near theirs. Mr. Miller 
died September 7, 1792, aged eighty years. 
His wife, Martha Miller, died November 24, 
1805, at the age of eighty-seven years. They 
reared four children: Stephen; John; Cyrus; 
and a daughter who married Asa Wright, of 
Northampton. Their son Cyrus succeeded 
them on the old farm, where he spent a useful 
life engaged in farming, and died June 17, 
1825, sixty-eight years of age. He married 
Miss Sarah Phinney, a daughter of Isaac Phin- 
ney, who came originally from Cape Cod, 
removing first to Hardwick and thence to Will- 
iamsburg in 1772, where he traded a side- 
saddle for sixty acres of land east of the Hay- 
denville church. Mrs. Miller was thirteen 



years of age at the time of the Boston Tea 
Party, December 16, 1773. She joined the 
church at Williamsburg under the pastorate of 
the Rev. Joseph Strong; and in 1851, on the 
formation of the Haydenville church, she 
transferred her membership to the latter, al- 
though then ninety-one years of age. She and 
her husband were the parents of twelve chil- 
dren, six sons and six daughters. In 1879 
there were four of the twelve whose respective 
ages summed up three hundred and forty-seven 
years, namely : Cyrus, aged eighty-two years ; 
John, aged seventy-nine years; Mrs. Betsey 
Fairfield, aged ninety-four years; and Mrs. 
Sarah Graves, of Sunderland, aged ninety-two 
years. Their mother died on March 4, 1859, 
aged ninety-eight years and four months. 

Cyrus Miller, second, the grandfather of 
Edwin Cyrus Miller, who was born in 1797, 
acquired his education in the district school of 
Williamsburg, two miles away. He, too, 
spent his life on the old farm. At the time of 
the Mill River flood, May 16, 1874, he and 
his family barely escaped a watery grave. He 
married for his first wife Miss Harriet King- 
man H annum, and for his second, Mrs. Phi- 
lena Ford, a widow with one son. The latter 
union was blessed by the birth of three sons: 
Edward F. Miller, Arthur F. Miller, and 
Lewis C. Miller. Lewis C. resides at South 
Hadley Falls and has four sons. In politics 
Cyrus Miller voted the Whig ticket up to the 
time of the formation of the Republican party, 
which he afterward supported ; but he was not 
a man to share in the excitement of political 
life. He was widely and favorably known as 
Major Miller, and led a most consistent and 
useful life. He was for years a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and on the forma- 
tion of the Haydenville church he joined that 
society. He belonged to a family of great 
longevity. His sister, Betsey Fairfield, died 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'59 



one hundred and three years old ; another 
sister, Patty Hoi ley. at ninety-seven years of 
age; and a brother died in his eighty-ninth 
year. His own death occurred in his eighty- 
seventh year, and his wife also lived to an 
advanced age. 

Edward F. Miller, the father of the subject 
of this sketch, was born May 3, 1838. He 
also chose the independent life of a farmer and 
resided on three hundred of the nine hundred 
acres owned by his grandfather, John Miller. 
He took an active part in public affairs ; and 
among the offices he was called upon to fill 
was that of Selectman, in which he rendered 
acceptable service during several terms. He 
also acted as Trustee of the Hayden-Sanders 
School Fund. In 1863 he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Ellen N. Woodburn, of Graf- 
ton, \'t., a daughter of Samuel D. and Laura 
(Fay) Woodburn, both of whom were natives 
of Vermont. Her father was a talented and 
successful music teacher. 

Edwin Cyrus Miller, the subject of this 
biographical sketch, received his education in 
Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, from which 
he graduated in 1S82, at the age of fourteen 
vears. He then secured a position in the Mill 
River button factory, which is the largest and 
one of the oldest ivory button factories in the 
United States. He remained there a year, 
and then, on September 20, 18S4, he entered 
the Conway National Bank. He resigned this 
position in October, 1886, to take that of 
book-keeper in the First National Bank of 
Northampton. In a short time, at the age 
of twenty-one, he became the teller, succeeding 
Lucius S. Graves (now deceased), who left on 
account of poor health. Mr. Miller has ren- 
dered most efficient service in this position. 
On June 17, 1891, he was married to Miss 
Edith Dunbar Childs, a daughter of Henry 
Chi Ids, of Northampton. 



In politics Mr. Miller is a Republican, and 
is at the present time chairman of the Repub- 
lican County Committee, Clerk of the Com- 
mon Council, and a member of the School 
Committee from Ward Four. He and his wife 
are active and consistent members of the Con- 
gregational church. They reside at No. 74 
High Street, a pleasant and modest dwelling 
surrounded with shrubbery and flowers, where 
they settled soon after their marri. 




ENJAMIN FRANKLIN DAVIS, a 
prosperous and practical farmer of 
Ware, was born at Three Rivers in 
the town of Palmer, Mass., on November 9, 
1837, son of Benjamin, Jr., and Cordelia 
(Bufnngton) Davis, the former of whom was a 
native of Ware. 

The Davis family are of Welsh ancestry. 
The earliest progenitor in this country 'if 
whom anything definite is known was Benja- 
min Davis, the great-great-grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch. He died at South 
Gore in the town of Oxford, Mass., in 1787, 
seventy-four years of age. His son, Crafts 
Davis, who was born in Oxford, in 1744, 
lived to the advanced age of ninety-three years. 
Benjamin Davis, the grandfather of Benjamin 
Franklin Davis, was born in Oxford on Sep- 
tember 20, 1774. He was reared to a farm 
life and continued in it with advantage to him- 
self, first in Oxford and later in Ware, whither 
he removed about the year I 800. He died in 
Ware on September 19, 1 S60, aged eighty-six 
years. His wife, Theodosia Davis, to whom 
he was married on October 3, 1796, reared 
nine children, all of whom married, except one 
daughter. Two are now living, namely: Dr. 
Willard Gould Davis, born March I, 1815, 
residing in Dunnsville, N.Y. ; and Sarah, the 
widow of Fisk Brooks, living at Stafford, 



260 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Conn., and now eighty-seven years of age. 
Her son, P. H. M. Brooks, is a high-rank 
mechanic in the Springfield Armory. Mrs. 
Theodosia Davis died January 29. 1861, at the 
age of eighty-four years and six months. Ben- 
jamin Davis, Jr., horn in Ware, July 16, 
181 1, spent his early years on his father's 
farm ; hut when he started for himself he 
engaged in manufacturing, which he followed 
with success, first at Three Rivers and later at 
Thorndike, both in the town of Palmer, Mass. 
Then, in 1846, he came to Ware. He was 
married May 4, 1836, to Cordelia Buffington, 
a daughter of Royal Buffington, of Connecticut. 
Nine children were born of their union, and 
four sons and four daughters are now living. 

Benjamin F. Davis received his education 
in the Ware High School and at Williston 
Seminary. He taught school for one winter; 
but after that he engaged in farming, which he 
has since followed with good success. He 
keeps a dairy of twenty-five or thirty choice 
cows, and has sold the milk in Ware during 
the past thirteen years. The products of his 
farm and dairy combined have in a single 
year brought him in about four thousand dol- 
lars, a good percentage of which is profit. In 
addition to his home farm he has three others, 
and in all owns about seven hundred acres of 
land. His success must be largely due to 
his apparently unfailing energy and industry. 
His clay's work usually begins between three 
and four o'clock in the morning, and continues 
till late in the evening. He still enjoys ex- 
cellent health. 

On July 26, 1856, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Mary Jane Phillips, of Chicopee 
Falls, Mass. She was a daughter of Walter 
Phillips, who came to Ware about fifty years 
ago. She lived to the age of forty-four years, 
dying March 4, 1882. Ten children were 
born of her union with Mr. Davis, of whom 



nine are now living, namely: Jennie Fremont, 
the wife of Frank F. Morris, of Monson, 
Mass. ; Emma C. , who married L. Walter 
Newton, of Allegheny, Pa., and has five chil- 
dren; Mary E., residing at home; Benjamin 
F. , Jr., a teamster and farmer, who is married 
and has one son ; Anna Belle, the wife of 
Frank L. Boothe, of California, who has two 
sons; Cora Maria, who lives at home; Helen 
Augusta, living at home; Charles Henry, who 
is in the Sophomore class at Williams College ; 
and Mabel Phillips, a young lady attending 
the high school. George W. Davis died on 
January 18, 1884, when but fourteen years of 
age. The daughters are graduates of Ware 
High School, and Miss Cora M. Davis spent 
one year in Wellesley College. Mr. Davis 
was again married on November 24, 1894, to 
Miss Susan M. Goyette, of Ware. 

In politics Mr. Davis is a Republican. He 
has served his town as Selectman, Assessor, 
and in other orifices; and in 1875 he was 
elected Representative to the State legislature 
for the Ware district. 




APTAIN EDWIN C. CLARK, a 

much esteemed citizen of Northamp- 

.f - ton, Mass., was born here October 

23, 1826, son of Allen and Sophia (Cook) 
Clark. The Clark family trace their lineage 
back to William Clark, who was born in Eng- 
land in the year 1609, and came to Massachu- 
setts among the early colonists, being known 
to have been living in Dorchester in 1638, and 
to have removed to Northampton about twenty 
years after. 

This progenitor, who, like his contempora- 
ries, was engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
bore the title of Lieutenant and was a very 
able and public-spirited man. He served as 
Trial Justice and was often one of the Select- 











r~" 




^ _~ » | . 




1 JE / yf 









EDWIN C. CLARK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



--; 



men of Northampton. Captain Clark has a 
souvenir of the olden times in the shape of a 
photographic copy of the autographs of the five 
Selectmen of 1666, one of whom was Lieuten- 
ant Clark. He was also a consistent church 
member and served as Deacon for many years. 
He died in Northampton in 1691. In 1880, 
in place of the simple headstone that had 
marked his grave, a monument of Quincy 
granite, costing five hundred dollars, was 
erected to his memory by his descendants, some 
ten of whom, including Captain Edwin C. 
Clark, were active in tracing the genealogy of 
the family. 

His son, John Clark, who was burn in Dor- 
chester, as appears from the history of that 
town, also devoted much time and attention to 
public affairs; and in addition to the other 
positions of public trust which he filled he 
served as a Representative in the General 
Court during fourteen sessions. He was the 
father of ten children, by whom he had over 
eighty grandchildren ; and, like his father, he 
held the office of Deacon in the church of 
which he was a member. His son, Increase 
Clark, was born in Northampton in 1684; and 
directly after him the lineal representatives 
are Daniel, born in Northampton in 17 12, and 
Daniel's son, Deacon Solomon, who was also 
a native of Northampton, born in 1744, and 
who became a well-to-do farmer. He died in 
1 82 1, leaving a family of seven children, three 
sons and four daughters. A brother Daniel 
was one of the pioneer settlers of Ohio, near 
Cleveland, where he reared a family of ten 
children. 

Allen Clark, son of Deacon Solomon, was 
born in 1789, was reared to the vocation of 
a farmer, and later became the owner of the 
old homestead, where his life was successfully 
spent as an agriculturist. He died in August, 
1849. His wife, Sophia Cook Clark, was a 



daughter of William and Annie (Gorman) 
Cook, both of whom were natives of Hadley, 
Mass. Their marriage was solemnized in 
Northampton in 18 14; and they reared a fam- 
ily of seven children, four sons and three 
daughters, of whom Edwin C. was the sixth 
child and third son. The only survivors are 
Edwin C. and his sister Pamelia, the widow of 
Heman Smith, of Springfield, Mass. 

Edwin C. Clark received a good common- 
school education, and remained on his father's 
farm until in his twenty-third year, when he 
was aroused by the reports of discovery of gold 
in California, and went thither by way of the 
Isthmus. He was engaged for a time as a 
placer miner on the American River, but a 
year later he came home; and in the fall of 
1850 he secured a position in New York City 
as salesman and shipper for the firm of Beebe 
& Co., hatters, remaining with them four 
years. In 1 854, returning to Hampshire 
County, he became associated with William 
Clark, under the firm name of E. C. Clark & 
Co., in the manufacture of lumber, which they 
carried on at Southampton, Mass., for five 
years, conducting a steam saw-mill, and dur- 
ing that time sold nine thousand cords of 
wood. He subsequently engaged in the livery 
business with his brother in Northampton, and 
later conducted it alone and on quite an ex- 
tensive scale, having two stables with thirty 
to fifty horses. In 1877 he became superin- 
tendent of the Northampton Street Railway; 
and he also served as Treasurer from that time 
until 1893, rendering very efficient service in 
both offices. He has since lived retired from 
active business. 

In 1S61 Mr. Clark enlisted as Second Lieu- 
tenant in the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts 
Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Burnside 
expedition, taking part in the battles of Roa- 
noke and Newbern. In 1862 he re-enlisted 



'64 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in the Fifty-second Massachusetts Infantry as 
First Lieutenant of Company C, and later re- 
ceived a commission as Quartermaster. He 
went to Louisiana under the command of Gen- 
eral Hanks, was present at the capture of Baton 
Rouge; he also served at Port Hudson, and was 
with his regiment when it ascended the Mis- 
sissippi River. He was mustered out of ser- 
vice in the fall of 1863, at Greenfield, Mass. 

On November 20, 1850, Mr. Clark was 
united in marriage with Miss Emily L. 1 lines, 
of Lee, Mass., a daughter of William and 
Hannah (Putnam) Hines. She was the eighth 
in a family of ten children, five sons and five 
daughters, of whom but three are living: Mrs. 
Clark; Sarah, the wife of John Williams, of 
Williamsburg, Mass. ; and Marshall Hines, of 
Coltsville, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are the 
parents of two sons and two daughters, namely : 
Ida Beebe, the wife of Joseph Carhart, Presi- 
dent of the State Normal School at St. Cloud, 
Minn. ; Edwin C, who succeeded his father as 
superintendent of the street railway company ; 
Mary A., the wife of E. V. Mitchell, of Hart- 
ford, Conn. ; and William Clark, a coal dealer, 
residing in Lansingburg, N.Y. Mr. and Mrs. 
Clark began married life forty-five years ago ; 
and the only death that has been in the family, 
which now numbers twenty-six, is that of a 
grand-daughter, Ida Clark, at eight years of age. 

In political affiliation Mr. Clark is a Repub- 
lican, and, though never a man who sought 
public office, has served acceptably as Alder- 
man. For twenty-five years he was an active 
fireman and was the engineer many years. Mr. 
Clark is a Master Mason of thirty-four years' 
standing, and has a wide circle of friends and 
acquaintances. He and his family reside at 
94 Crescent Street, in their fine dwelling 
which was completed in November, 1892. A 
portrait of Captain Clark is placed on another 
page of this volume. 




WEN McARDLE, of the firm of Owen 
McArdle & Son, wholesale and retail 
liquor dealers of Ware, where they are 
doing a prosperous business, was born in Ire- 
land, August 15, 1816, son of Patrick and 
Mary (McGeon) McArdle. Patrick McArdle 
successfully followed the trade of a blacksmith 
throughout the active period of his life. In 
1845 he and his wife with three of their chil- 
dren came to America. He was between 
seventy and eighty years of age at the time of 
his death ; and his widow, who died in 1878, 
attained the advanced age of ninety-six years. 

Owen McArdle grew to manhood in his 
native land. In 1841, in company with his 
brother Felix, and with only sufficient money 
to pay his passage, he took shipping for this 
country, and after a long and stormy voyage 
landed at Quebec. Soon after, he came to 
Ware, secured work as a currier, and con- 
tinued at that occupation for several years. In 
1876, at the introduction of the "local option " 
principle, he engaged in his present business 
of wholesale and retail liquor dealer; and in 
1892 he erected his store at 2 Pine Street. 

About the same time that Mr. McArdle and 
his brother came to America, Miss Bridget 
Dolan, a native of County Leitrim, Ireland, 
sailed for the same general destination on the 
ship "Industry, " under the command of Cap- 
tain Barrett. On her arrival, after a tempest- 
uous voyage of seven weeks, she went to 
Worcester, Mass., and later to Ware, where 
she secured a situation in a hotel. While here 
employed she made the acquaintance of Mr. 
McArdle, and was subsequently married to 
him at Worcester, in the year 1850. Five 
children were the fruit of their union. Of 
these three reached maturity, namely: Owen 
H., who follows the trade of a mason in Ware; 
Francis P., living in Ware; and Michael John, 
who has charge of his father's store, and in 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



««S 



1895 became a member of the firm. Michael 
John received a good practical education in the 
public schools of Ware, graduating in June, 
1880. Since that time he has been employed 
in his father's store. Though crippled and a 
great sufferer from his affliction, he possesses 
much physical courage, combined with consid- 
erable firmness of character. He is a man of 
literary tastes and inclinations; and, had he 
been favored with better educational advan- 
tages, no doubt he would have chosen an occu- 
pation more suited to his disposition. The 
family are influential members of All Saints' 
Catholic Church. They reside on East Street, 
where Mr. McArdle purchased his present 
home in 1855. 



"OHN E. BATES, a resident of North- 
ampton and senior partner in the firm 
of Bates, Lyman & Locke, was born in 
in South Hadley, Mass., June 12, 1847, being 
a son of Emerson and Sarah Ann (Edwards) 
Bates. The Bates family originated in Eng- 
land, the first of the name to cross the ocean 
and locate in this country having been one 
Joshua Bates, who settled in Hingham, Mass., 
at Cohassct, at an early period in the settle- 
ment of Xew England. 

John Bates, grandfather of John E. Bates, 



was born March 12, 17; 



in Cohasset, and, 



when a young man, came to this count)'. He 
lived for a while in Chesterfield, and was 
there married to Nancy Cogswell- Soon after 
their union they removed to Westhampton, 
where their ten children, five sons and five 
daughters, were bom, all of whom, except one 
who died in infancy, grew to adult life. Of 
these one daughter still lives. This is Mary 
Ann, widow of Asahel Judd, formerly a resi- 
dent of Charlemont, but now of Aurora, 111. 
Emerson improved his land and spent his 
life and remaining days upon it with his fam- 



ily, dying March 12, 1856. He was united in 
marriage in 1833, to Sarah Ann Edwards, who 
was born at Roberts Meadow, Northampton, 
daughter of David Edwards, grand -daughter of 
Nathaniel Edwards, former well-known resi- 
dents of the locality. For many years after 
their union they kept the hotel and toll-gate 
on the old Boston and Albany Pike, ami also 
owned and operated a tannery. They reared 
five children, as follows: Henry E, a volun- 
teer in the late Rebellion, Corporal of Com- 
pany H, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volun- 
teer Infantry, born in 1844, died August 19, 
1863; Mary A., the wife of T. C. Cooley, of 
Springfield; Catherine I., living on the old 
homestead; John E. , the subject of this 
sketch ; and Nathaniel Edwards, who owns and 
occupies the old home farm. The mother sur- 
vived her husband, passing away March 22, 
1895, at the good old age of seventy eight 
years. She was buried beside her husband in 
the South Hadley cemetery. The soldier 
son was laid to rest in the Cypress Grove 
Cemetery in Louisiana. 

John E. Bates was a student in the high 
school when his eldest brother enlisted. The 
departure of his brother obliged him to give up 
his studies to assist on the home farm. This 
he continued to do until 1870, when he came 
to Northampton and secured work in the bis- 
cuit factory of Carr & Lyman, where he re- 
mained until the death of Mr. Carr, which 
occurred more than fifteen years afterward. 
Mr. Bates subsequently became a member of 
the new firm. The company was organized 
March 15, 1886, and has since carried on a 
flourishing business under the title of the 
Smith Carr Baking Company. This bakery 
was first established a centur) ago, since which 
time it has passed through different hands. 
The firm carry on a large trade. The fa< 
tory at times has made one hundred and 







BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



seventy-five barrels of crackers per day. The 
larger part of this output consists of the Smith 
Carr Butter Crackers, which are unsurpassed by 
any other, ami are extensively sold throughout 
New England and the West. The firm keeps 
three commercial travellers busily employed. 

Mr. Bates was united in marriage October 
I, 1872, to Harriet E. Wright, of Northamp- 
ton, by the Rev. Ephraim M. Wright, for- 
merly Secretary of the State of Massachusetts, 
and an uncle of the bride. Mrs. Bates is a 
daughter of Ozro C. and Emeline (Clark) 
Wright, her mother being a native of East- 
bampton and a daughter of Luther Clark. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bates reside at 14 Fruit 
Street, having settled in this locality soon 
after their marriage. Since then they have 
changed their residence but once, on that occa- 
sion having been compelled to do so by a fire 
which burned them out. This was in 1876, 
when they bought the Daniel Kingsley place. 
They are the parents of five children, namely: 
Clinton Monroe, born July 25, 1874, now in 
the office of the company; Edith W., born Jan- 
uary 28, 1876, attending the high school; S. 
Emeline, born in October, 1880; Harriet I., 
born July 18, 1882; and Lucy A., born Au- 
gust 9, 1886. Mr. Bates evinces a warm in- 
terest in the progress and advancement of the 
city. In politics he is independent of party. 
He has served three years as a member of the 
City Council. He has passed all the chairs up 
to that of Clerk in the Canton, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a Knight 
of Pythias, and belongs to the American Legion 
of Honor and to the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen. 



ZIAS BISSELL OWEN, a retired 
farmer now residing in Ware, was 
born in Belchertown, Mass., on 
November 3, 1822, son of Ralph and Fanny 




(Bissell) Owen, and grandson of Eleazer Owen, 
who was of English parentage. 

Eleazer Owen was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary War. It is stated he enlisted at the 
age of fourteen years, and that at fifteen he 
was one of the most powerful men in the Colo- 
nial army, standing six feet in height and 
weighing two hundred and forty pounds. In 
1794 he settled in Belchertown, where he pur- 
chased a farm and thereafter turned his atten- 
tion to agriculture. He married Miss Abigail 
Bicknell, a farmer's daughter. They reared 
seven sons and three daughters. Two of the 
sons died unmarried, when but a little over 
twenty years of age. Their mother died in 
1836, between seventy and eighty years of 
age; and their father in 1840, eighty-two 
years of age. They rest in the Belchertown 
cemetery. 

Ralph Owen, whose birth occurred in Ash- 
ford, Conn., June 3, 1785, became a farmer, 
and, after his marriage, settled on the old 
homestead in Belchertown. In politics he was 
a Democrat, and he served his town accept- 
ably as Tax Collector. He was a Past Master 
Mason, and a prominent member of the Con- 
gregational church. He died October 31, 
1864, and was buried November 3, the day his 
son, Ozias Bissell Owen, was forty-two years of 
age. His wife, whose maiden name was Fanny 
Bissell, was born in Manchester, Conn., on 
February 9, 1790. Their marriage took place 
November 9, 1807. Five sons and five daugh- 
ters were born of their union, all of whom 
attained maturity. Three sons and three 
daughters are now living. One son, Charles 
M., born January 28, 181 8, now residing in 
Osage, Mitchell County, la., is seventy-eight 
years of age. Their daughter Frances died in 
1831, seventeen years of age; and their young- 
est-born, Willard, died at the age of seventy- 
two years. The mother's death occurred in 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



267 



August, 1879, when she was eighty-nine years 
ami six months old. 

Ozias Bissell Owen after reaching the age 
of nine years was unable to attend school 
except in the winter sessions. He remained 
at home with his parents until thirty-three 
years of age. Before settling in the place 
where he now resides he lived for twelve years 
upon a farm of one hundred acres about four 
miles from Ware. His present farm contains 
thirty acres of land, and was purchased about 
seventeen years ago. 

On November 20, 1855, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Maria P. Davis, of Ware, 
who was born March 7, 1832, and is a daugh- 
ter of Samuel and Nancy (Hartwell) Davis, 
who were respectively natives of Worcester 
County and Sterling, Mass. Her father was a 
hotel-keeper and likewise filled the office of 
Deputy Sheriff. He died at the age of forty- 
four years, when Mrs. Owen was but six years 
old. He left a widow and four children, a 
son and three daughters. Joseph H. Davis 
died in Colorado in December, 1894, aged 
seventy-five years. Having been a ranchman 
in the Rocky Mountains located at the foot of 
Spanish Peak, his body had to be carried forty 
miles on a bed in order to have it prepared for 
burial in the East. The surviving members 
of the family are: Mrs. Owen; and a sister, 
Frances H., the wife of Mr. Stearns, of War- 
ren, Mass. Their mother died in 1863, in the 
sixty-seventh year of her age. Mr. and Mrs. 
Owen have an adopted daughter, Harriett May 
Owen, now the wife of Charles F. Clark, of 
Ware; and they have one son, Francis Owen 
Clark, three and a half years old. 

In his political relations Mr. Owen is a 
Democrat, as was his father before him. 
Their home is a pleasant and attractive one, 
and both are esteemed members of the commu- 
nity in which they live. 




ILLIAM A. FALES, a prosperous 
farmer and a successful stone-cutter 
of Pelham, was born in that town 
July 5, 1828, son of Abijah and Mary (Woods) 
Fales. Mr. Fales's grandparents were Sewell 
and Lois Fales, the former of whom was a 
native of Holden, Mass. He settled in Pel- 
ham in 1803, and owned a farm in the north- 
west part of the town, which contained a great 
deal of valuable timber. He followed agri- 
culture with satisfactory results until his 
death, which occurred at a good old age. He 
raised a family of ten children, all of whom 
grew to maturity, but are now deceased. His 
wife, who was a member of the Methodist 
church, died at an advanced age. 

Abijah F"ales, father of Mr. Fales, followed 
agriculture as his principal occupation. He 
settled upon the Wood farm, where his son 
now resides, and conducted it successfully. 
He also engaged in quarrying stone, which, as 
it developed into a profitable business, he con- 
tinued until his death. He married Mary 
Woods, daughter of William Woods, who was 
a native of Hardwick, Mass., and became an 
early settler in Pelham, where he cleared and 
improved a good farm. Both he and his wife 
died in Pelham at an advanced age. Abijah 
Fales died at the age of eighty-one years. He- 
was a Whig in politics and a Congregationalist 
in his religious belief. His eight children 
were as follows: Henry J., who died while 
serving as a soldier in the Civil War; William 
A., the subject of this sketch; Lois, wife of 
Samuel Wesson, of Worcester, Mass. ; Lyman 
G. , a resident of Easthampton ; James M. ; 
Anthea H., who lives at the old homestead; 
Caroline A., who also resides there; and John 
T. , who resides in Newport, R.I. The 
mother died at the homestead in Pelham. 

William A. Fales was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of his native town, and resided at 



>68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



home until his majority. He then went to 
Amherst, where he was engaged in farming 
and in the stone business. In 1864 he moved 
to his present farm, consisting of sixty-five 
acres of fertile land. His house is a land- 
mark of the town, over one hundred years old. 
In addition to farming he has conducted an 
extensive and profitable business in quarrying 
stone. 

On April 15, 1856, Mr. Fales was united in 
marriage to Emma A. Ballou, born in Rhode 
Island, daughter of Silas Ballou. Mr. and 
Mrs. Fales had eight children, as follows: 
Anna, who died at the age of sixteen ; Mary 
L. , wife of Frank Roberts, of Adams, Mass. ; 
Charles D., of Springfield, Mass. ; Clara W. , 
who resides at home; Jane E., wife of Leonard 
Ball, of Northampton; Emma A., wife of 
Edward Still, of Pelham ; Kate B. and Sarah, 
who reside at home. Mr. Fales is a Republi- 
can in politics. 

'ASPER E. LAMBIE, at the head of 
the enterprising firm of J. E. Lambie 
& Co., the leading dry-goods house of 
Hampshire County, is one of the foremost 
business men of Northampton. He was born 
in Hammond, N.Y., in August, 1S43. His 
father, John Lambie, was born in Paisley, 
Scotland, in 1800. He was a son of the manu- 
facturer of the celebrated Paisley shawls, and 
was reared to that business in his native land. 
In 1 82 1 John Lambie emigrated to America, 
settling in New York State. After coming to 
this country he married Ellen Morris, a native 
of Scotland; and they had a family of eight 
children, of whom three have departed this 
life, namely: Jane, who died at the age of 
thirty-nine years; Robert M., at one time en- 
gaged in the dry-goods business at Easthamp- 
ton, Mass., but later a manufacturer in New 
York City, where his death occurred in 1892; 



and Margaret, Mrs. Otis Gardner, who died 
the past year. The following are the living 
children: Christiana, the widow of F. \Y. 
Blackmore, residing in Hammond, N. Y. ; 
William M. ; John F. ; Jasper E., of North- 
ampton; and Martha M., wife of George L. 
Manchester, of Easthampton. The father 
passed from earth in 18S4, and the mother some 
three years later at the age of fourscore years. 
Jasper E. Lambie, eagerly seizing the oppor- 
tunities afforded him in his youth for obtain- 
ing an education, after leaving the district 
school pursued the higher branches of learning 
at Gouverneur Academy and at St. Lawrence 
University, Canton, N.Y. In August, 1864, 
he joined the Ninety-first New York Volunteer 
Infantry, personally enlisting thirty-three men 
for his company. Mr. Lambie was appointed 
to a position in the commissary of musters 
department, being stationed at Baltimore until 
the close of the war. In the spring of 1866 
Mr. Lambie first embarked in a mercantile 
career with his brother Robert, opening a store 
in Easthampton, where he continued for seven- 
teen years, doing a thriving business alone 
after his brother went to New York City. 
Coming to Northampton in 1883, Mr. Lambie, 
bought out the establishment of E. G. South- 
wick & Co., and three years later took his 
brother John into partnership. They have a 
large store at 92 Main Street. The original 
building in which he began business was but 
seventy feet deep, and is still in the posses- 
sion of the former owner. The additions, 
which include a three-story brick building, 
fifty-two by one hundred and ninety-two feet, 
have been erected and are owned by Mr. 
Lambie. Their business, which is conducted 
on the department plan, gives employment to 
twenty-five salesmen and saleswomen, the vari- 
ous departments embracing all kinds of dry 
goods, notions, and millinery. 




JOHN L. MATHER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



On September 9, 1875, Mr. Lambie was 
united in wedlock with Henrietta E. Bryan, a 
daughter of Dr. Bryan, of New York City. 
Sorrow and joy, the common lot of mortals, 
have been theirs since marriage, three of the 
beautiful children born to them having been 
taken from earth. A son and a daughter 
brighten their pleasant home at 37 Phillips 
Place, the daughter Margaret being nine years 
old and the son Morris a sturdy lad of seven 
years. In politics Air. Lambie is a stanch 
Republican, and has served two terms as 
Alderman and one term as Mayor. Socially, 
he is a Chapter Mason, being Past Master of 
the Ionic Lodge, Easthampton. 




AMUEL P. ROHAN, of Ware, 
Mass., a member of the grocery and 
provision firm of Rohan & Brosna- 
han, formerly Rohan Brothers, was born in 
Enfield, Mass., August 29, 1S58, son of Pat- 
rick and Johanna (McCarthy) Rohan. 

Patrick Rohan, who was born in Limerick 
County, Ireland, in 1824, came to America 
when sixteen years of age, making the voyage 
hither in a sailing-vessel. On his arrival he 
went to Enfield, Mass., and engaged in farm- 
ing. Some time after he moved to Belcher- 
town. He was married in Enfield in 1844, 
when twenty years of age, to Miss Johanna 
McCarthy, who was two years his junior, and, 
like himself, a native of Ireland. He died in 
Enfield, leaving his widow with three sons and 
a daughter; namely, Samuel, David, William, 
and Nellie. The three sons were formerly 
members of the firm of Rohan Brothers. 
Their sister Nellie, who is book-keeper in the 
store, is a practical young woman possessed of 
much common-sense and business ability. 

Samuel P. Rohan received a good education 
in the grammar and high schools of Enfield. 



At the age of twenty-five years he engaged 
in selling goods for C. Hitchcock & Co., in 
Ware, a connection which lasted over eight 
years. On February 1, 1892, the firm of 
Rohan Brothers started in trade at the present 
stand of Rohan & Brosnahan. Business in- 
creased rapidly, and they soon had a patronage 
that ranked only second in magnitude to the 
largest obtained in the town. Samuel P. 
Rohan was married December 31, 1S89, to 
Miss Julia Shugrue, of Hardwick, Mass., a 
daughter of John and Mary (Splarn) Shugrue, 
the former of whom is a successful agricultu- 
rist. Her mother died in 1S88, leaving three 
sons and four daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Rohan 
have no children. 

In his political relations Mr. Rohan is a 
stanch Democrat; while he and Mrs. Rohan 
are consistent members of All Saints' Catholic 
Church. They reside at 64 North Street, 
the attractive and comfortable home erected by 
Mr. Rohan in 1891. 



^j|~OHN L. MATHER, mason, contractor, 

and builder of Northampton, was born 
in Amherst, Mass., January 9, 1851, 
son of William E. and Henrietta (Lyman) 
Mather. He is a scion of an ancient and 
honored New England family, the founder 'it 
which was the Rev. Richard Mather, a gifted 
divine of Dorchester, Mass., who was born in 
Lowton, Lancashire, England, in 1596, stud- 
ied at Oxford, was ordained, and engaged in 
the work of the ministry before coming to 
Boston in 1635. He died in Dorchester, 
April 22, 1669. He was a son of Thomas 
Mather and a grandson of John Mather, of 
Lancashire, England. 

The Rev. Eleazer Mather, one of the sons 
of Richard, was the first settled pastor in 
Northampton. He was born in Dorchester, 



!72 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mass., May 13, 1637, began to preach in 
Northampton in 1658, and was ordained in 
June, 1 66 1. John L. Mather, the subject of 
this sketch, is a descendant of the Rev. Rich- 
ard Mather's son Timothy, who was of the 
fourth generation from John, the next in line 
being successively the Rev. Samuel Mather, of 
the fifth; Ur. Samuel Mather, of the sixth; 
Dr. Samuel Mather, Jr., of the seventh; 
Elisha Mather, of the eighth, born in 1740; 
William Mather, of the ninth; and William 
E. , of the tenth. 

William Mather, son of Elisha, was an able 
farmer, possessing a farm on Pleasant Street, 
where is now the crossing of the Consolidated 
Railroad, and extending back to Hawley 
Street. He died August 5, 1835, aged fifty- 
nine years; but his wife, whose maiden name 
was Annie Clark, lived to be seventy-eight, 
dying March 22, 1854. They reared four sons 
and two daughters. The youngest, Sarah Ann 
Mather, was a teacher in Virginia some fifteen 
years, and died in St. Augustine, Fla., at 
the age of seventy-six. 

William E. , son of William and Annie 
(Clark) Mather, was a farmer in Amherst, 
owning a farm in that town some fifteen years. 
His term on earth comprised fifty-eight years, 
ending January 20, 1862. On June 15, 1848, 
he was united in marriage with Henrietta II. 
Lyman, of Hockanum, Hadley, Mass., daugh- 
ter of Enos and Lydia (Wadsworth) Lyman, of 
Ellington, Conn. Enos Lyman was a farmer 
in moderate circumstances, and was a Captain 
in the militia. He died some years before 
his wife, whose death occurred in 1875, at the 
age of seventy-four. Mrs. Mather was born 
March 31, 1 818, and was the eldest of ten 
children, and the only daughter. She lived 
through many years of widowhood, passing 
away May 19, 1890. She was a model wife 
and mother, a practical Christian, and was 



a member of the Edwards Congregational 
Church. Two of her four children are living, 
namely : John L. ; and Charles Dwight, a car- 
penter and builder residing on Pleasant Street, 
Northampton. George Howe died in early 
childhood; and Frank C, who was a mason 
by trade, died in August, 1892, at the age of 
forty-three, leaving a widow. 

John L. Mather attended school at Amherst, 
Hadley, and Northampton. At the age of 
seventeen he was apprenticed to Daniel R. 
Clark to learn the mason's trade, remaining 
until twenty-one. He received five hundred 
dollars of the Oliver Smith Fund, and on at- 
taining his majority bought his employer's 
business. From that time to the present the 
business has prospered under his management; 
and he has established a reputation for good 
workmanship and honest dealings that adds new 
prestige to the honorable name of Mather. One 
of his first contracts was the building of Cos- 
mian Hall; and in the spring of 1874 he built 
the main building and the president's house of 
Smith College. He also erected the Hillyer 
Art Gallery of the college and many fine resi- 
dences and school-houses in the vicinity, his 
business amounting to as much as one hundred 
thousand dollars in a year. 

On February 25, 1891, Mr. Mather married 
Mrs. Ella K. (Child) Warnock, daughter of 
Henry Child, of Northampton, and widow of 
William Warnock. Mrs. Mather has two sons 
by her former marriage, Henry C. and Will- 
iam Harold Warnock, aged respectively seven- 
teen and fourteen. One daughter, Esther 
Henrietta, born October 25, 1893, is the fruit 
of her union with Mr. Mather. 

John L. Mather is a Republican in political 
views. He has served as Councilman, and is 
now one of the Board of Aldermen of North- 
ampton. In Masonic circles he is prominent, 
being a Master Mason. His home is a hand- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



•73 



some brick dwelling-house at 275 Main Street, 
which he erected in 1882 and moved into in 

1883, installing as mistress his mother, whose 
gracious presence came to be missed a few years 
later in the spacious rooms now brightened by 
the smiles ami voices of wife and children. 




I 



|VRUS F. WOODS, a successful busi- 
ness man of Enfield, was born in 
Belchertown, December 23, 1825, 
son of Zenas and Abigail (Forbes) Woods. 
Mr. Woods's grandfather, John Woods, served 
as a Corporal during the Revolutionary War; 
and his discharge from the Continental army, 
signed by General Washington, is now in the 
possession of his grandson. The family is of 
early Colonial origin. Mr. Woods treasures 
an old document relating to his ancestors, 
which bears the date of 1694. Zenas Woods, 
Mr. Woods's father, was a native of New 
Braintree, Worcester County, Mass.; and his 
mother was born in Bridgewater, Mass. 

Cyrus F. Woods commenced his education 
in the schools of his native town, and com- 
pleted his studies at the Quaboag Seminary 
in Warren. At an early age lie went to 
Springfield, Mass., where he was employed in 
the dry-goods store of Samuel Bailey, with 
whom he remained for four years. Then, in 
company with others, he engaged in the same 
line of trade. After an experience of a few 
months in this enterprise he disposed of his 
interest, and went to New York City, where 
he was a clerk in a wholesale dry-goods es- 
tablishment for one year. In 185 1 he re- 
turned to Enfield, started a general mercantile 
business, and successfully conducted it until 
1866, when he sold out again, and went back to 
New York City. He next engaged in stock - 
broking in Wall Street, becoming familiar 
with the business methods of that centre 



of finance. Subsequently he was for some 
time Vice-President of the New York Mining- 
Exchange and President of the Consolidated 
Clearing-house connected with that institu- 
tion. He also interested himself in the con- 
struction of railroads, making contracts to 
build sections of Cayuga Lake Railway, the 
Rochester & Pittsburg line, and sections of 
the New York Central. He was successful in 
all of his business enterprises, and continued 
to reside in New York City until 18S4, when 
he once more returned to Enfield, which has 
since been his home. He is now engaged in 
the lumber business, and, in company with 
A. J. N. Ward, is conducting an extensive 
and profitable enterprise. He is a stanch Re- 
publican in politics, and during the years of 
1864 and 1865 he served as a member of the 
Board of Selectmen of Enfield. 

Mr. Woods has been twice married. His 
first wife, whom he wedded in 1873, was Jo- 
sephine K. Crane. She died in 1884, and in 
1893 he married for his second wife Caroline 
D. Jones. He is a member of Dr. Hall's 
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New 
York City; and Mrs. Woods is a member of 
St. James Church in Philadelphia, of which 
the Rev. Dr. Blanchard is pastor. They oc- 
cupy a handsome residence in the village, and 
Mr. Woods is a citizen of whom Enfield has 
every reason to be proud. 



^fAMES R. ANDERSON, general fore- 
man of the Montague City Rod Manu- 
factory in Pelham, was born in Lowell, 
Mass., March 27, [859, son of Hugh and 
Isabella (Stuart) Anderson. Mr. Anderson's 
father was born in Ayrshire, Scotland; and in 
1846, when he was eighteen years of age, he 
emigrated to the United States. He was a 
carpet weaver by trade, and followed that 



'■74 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



occupation during his early manhood. He 
finally located in Belchertown, where he pur- 
chased a farm, and resided on it for the re- 
mainder of his life. He was energetic and 
industrious, and became a prosperous farmer. 
He was a Methodist in his religious belief 
and a Republican in politics. Hugh Ander- 
son died at the age of sixty-three years. His 
wife, also a native of Scotland and daughter 
of a peasant residing upon a large estate, 
became the mother of two children, of whom 
one, James R., reached maturity, the other 
having died at the age of six years. The 
mother, who survives, now resides with her 
son. 

James R. Anderson passed his boyhood in 
Springfield, Mass., and received his educa- 
tion in the schools of that city. In 1883 he 
was engaged as a book-keeper by the Mon- 
tague City Rod Manufactory in Pelham, and 
later was advanced to the position of foreman 
of the Pelham factory. His thorough knowl- 
edge of the business, together with the energy 
and decision he displayed in the performance 
of his duties, was appreciated by his em- 
ployers; and in 1885 he was appointed general 
foreman of the entire enterprise. 

Mr. Anderson is a Republican in politics, 
and is prominently identified with public 
affairs. He is chairman of the Board of Se- 
lectmen and of the Board of Assessors and a 
member of the School Board. In 1890 he 
was a candidate for Representative to the leg- 
islature, and has been chairman of the Repub- 
lican Town Committee since 1886. He is a 
member of Pacific Lodge of Free Masons in 
Amherst. 

On September 8, 1885, Mr. Anderson was 
united in marriage to Mary M. Brainard. 
She was born in Pelham, daughter of John L. 
and Fidelia L. Brainard. Mrs. Anderson 
died August 10, 1889, leaving one child, 



named Fidelia L. Mr. Anderson is a rising 
young business man, and is highly esteemed 
by his fellow-townsmen. 



OHN J. KIDGELL, the well-known 
freight agent of the Boston & Maine 
Railroad at Ware, Mass., was born in 
the town of Pittsfield, Berkshire County, 
October 4, 1853. His parents were John and 
Mary (McCarthy) Kidgell, the former of 
whom was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1825. 

John Kidgell came to this country in 1848. 
On his arrival here he secured work as a la- 
borer in the construction of the Western Rail- 
road, now the Boston & Albany Railroad, and 
subsequently in a paper-mill at Middlefield, 
Mass. After his marriage he purchased a 
farm in that town, and on it he passed the 
remainder of his life. He died January 1S, 
1892. His wife, to whom he was married on 
January 1, 1852, was also a native of Ireland. 
She came to this country with her widowed 
mother, brothers, and sisters. She bore her 
husband eleven children. Four sons and two 
daughters grew to adult life. They were: 
John; Frank H., a painter, living at Gardner, 
Mass.; George, a locomotive fireman; Ed- 
ward, a railroad employee, residing at Gard- 
ner, Mass. ; Mary, who died at twenty-four 
years of age; and Elizabeth, who lived to be 
twenty-two years old. Their mother, who is 
now sixty-eight years of age, is living in 
Gardner. 

John J. Kidgell received but a limited edu- 
cation. After reaching the age of ten years, 
he was able to attend school only during the 
winter months. When sixteen years of age, 
he went to work on the Boston & Albany 
Railroad, where he was employed for three 
years. He then went to Miller's Falls, 
Mass., as a telegraph operator for the Fitch- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



-75 



burg Railroad Company. Eighteen months 
later, in company with a Mr. Conway, he 
opened a general merchandise store in Mid- 
dlefield, where they conducted a successful 
business for two years under the firm name of 
Kidgell & Conway. At the expiration of that 
time he sold his interest to his partner, and 
went to Greenfield as operator for the Fitch- 
burg Company. He was transferred a year 
later to Gardner, and soon after entered the 
employ of the Boston, Barre & Gardner Rail- 
road Company as telegraph operator and clerk. 
In 1882 he secured employment with the 
Long Island Road at Huntington, Long Isl- 
and; but in a brief time he returned to Gard- 
ner as agent of the Boston, Barre & Gardner 
Railroad. He had held this position three 
years when compelled by illness to abandon 
it. When after four months he was able to 
resume work, he found employment with the 
Long Island Company at Manhattan Beach and 
with the Boston & Lowell Railroad at West 
Boylston, Mass., for short periods. He then, 
in 1888, came to Ware to take his present 
position with the Boston & Maine Railroad. 
Having slighted none of his opportunities, he 
has become a most competent railroad man. 

< >n June 10, 1 890, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Catherine L. Curley, of New 
London, Conn., a daughter of Peter Curley, 
who is a native of Ireland. Mrs. Kidgell has 
a brother in New London, Conn., and in New 
Orleans a sister, named Mary — in religion 
Sister Anthony, of the Sisters of the Holy 
Cross. 

Mr. Kidgell is a Democrat in politics, and 
he has been chairman of the Town Demo- 
cratic Committee for four years. He has also 
served his townsmen most acceptably as Se- 
lectman for three years, for two of which he 
was chairman of that board. He is a member 
of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and has 



served as Treasurer of that organization for 
three years. He and his wife are consistent 
members of All Saints' Catholic Church of 
Ware. 



M 



AVID A. JENNISON, proprietor of 
the Hampshire House in Ware, was 
born in Walpole, N.H., in 1S37, 
son of John and Elvira (Russell) Jennison. 
His grandfather, who also bore the name of 
John Jennison, was a prosperous agriculturist. 
He married a Miss Moore, who bore him three 
sons and a daughter, as follows: Thomas, a 
farmer in Lancaster, N.H., who died past 
middle life, leaving two daughters; Ashley, 
who lived for a time in Lancaster, and after- 
ward in New York State, ami also died when 
past middle life, leaving a family of sons and 
tlaughters: Mary, the wife of Mr. Lovejoy, a 
merchant in Walpole, N.H.; and John. 
Their father died in 1825. His widow died 
several years later. 

John Jennison, Jr., who was born in Wal- 
pole, N.H., in 1809, was brought up to farm- 
ing; and he followed that occupation through- 
out his life in his native town. In 1829 he 
married Elvira Russell, a daughter of Thomas 
Russell, of Walpole. Nine children were 
born of their union, of whom seven sons and 
a daughter reached maturity. Six sons and 
the daughter are still living. They are: 
George, a successful farmer in Walpole; 
David A.; Charles, who served in the Civil 
War, and is now a commission merchant in 
Chicago, 111., whither he went on his return 
from the war; Edwin, a carpenter in Walpole; 
Warren, who is also a carpenter, and resides 
in Athol, Mass.: Frank, living in Chicago; 
and Mary, the wife of Frank George, of Bel- 
lows Falls, \ r t. John Jennison died in 1874, 
about forty years of age, leaving two sons and 
two daughters. The mother, after living to 



1-]<1 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the advanced age of ninety-one years, died in 
January, 1894. 

David A. Jennison received a good common- 
school education. At the age of eighteen 
years he started out for himself. At first he 
worked by the month on a farm. This he 
continued until 1858, when he came to Ware, 
Mass., to drive a wagon for his uncle, George 
Jennison, who had a prosperous grocery store 
and bakery. He had spent at this about three 
years, when in 1861, joined by Mr. Burns, a 
baker, he purchased the business of his uncle. 
During the succeeding three years they did a 
fairly profitable business. He then removed 
to Walpole, spent a year on a farm in West- 
minster, Vt., and conducted one of the 
Meadow farms for two years. When he gave 
up his last occupation, he moved to a farm of 
one hundred acres previously purchased by 
him in Walpole, and carried it on for three 
years. Selling this farm, he engaged in the 
sewing-machine business in Keene, N.H., for 
two years, after which he rented the Ludlow 
House in Ludlow, Vt. Having conducted 
the hotel for two years, he sold out in April, 
1874, took a lease of the Summit House in 
Athol, Mass., in the following June, and 
managed that for four years. He then came 
to Ware, and purchased the Hampshire 
House, for which he paid the sum of twenty- 
seven thousand five hundred dollars. After 
running it for five and a half years, he sold 
the furniture, and gave a lease of it for ten 
years to John W. Lawton. Mr. Lawton died 
before the expiration of the lease; and in the 
winter of 1892 Mr. Jennison bought the in- 
terest of the estate, and has himself since that 
time conducted the hotel. It is a solid brick 
structure, three stories in height, contains 
thirty rooms, and is the leading hotel of the 
place. About the time Mr. Jennison leased 
the Hampshire House he purchased a farm of 



one hundred and forty acres within the limits 
of the corporation, and resided there during a 
portion of the time that Mr. Lawton had 
charge of the hotel. 

In February, 1861, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Louisa Brockway, a daughter 
of Jesse and Mary ( 1'ratt) Brockway. They 
have lost the only child born of their union; 
namely, Norman Jennison, who died in 1873, 
at seven years of age. Mr. Jennison is a 
faithful supporter of the Republican party, 
though he has never served in office. He is a 
member of the A. F. & A. M. In religious 
belief both he and his wife are Episcopalians. 



7~AHARLES E. BLOOD, a retired 
( Vp straw-goods manufacturer living in 

V«~__^- Ware, was born in Pepperell, Mid- 
dlesex County, March 19, 1825. The Blood 
family trace their ancestry to the Thomas 
Blood portrayed by Sir Walter Scott. 

Leonard Blood, father of Charles E. Blood, 
was born in Pepperell, Mass., in 1787. He 
was a cooper by trade. In 1829 he sold out 
his business in Pepperell, and removed to 
Ware, where he continued to follow his trade. 
He died there in 1870, eighty-three years of 
age. He married Miss Abigail Blood, a 
daughter of Amos Blood, who, though bearing 
the same name, was but slightly related. Mr. 
and Mrs. Blood reared a family of six chil- 
dren, four sons and two daughters. Of these 
Horace L., a painter, died in Worcester, 
Mass., aged thirty-five years, leaving one 
daughter, Marcia Ann, deceased, who married 
Zenas Marsh, but left no children. Ivory M. 
Blood was at one time a judge in California, 
was in the secret service of the government 
during the Civil War, more recently was a 
State detective of Massachusetts, and now 
resides in Washington. Henry Blood was 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



'77 



engaged in the manufacture of straw goods 
with his brother Charles E., subsequently 
served in the Civil War as Assistant Surgeon 
in the Fifty-seventh Illinois Regiment, and 
died at Fort Donelson of disease caused by 
exposure, leaving one daughter. Mary E. 
Blood died in her twenty-fifth year. Charles 
E. is the subject of this sketch. Their 
mother died in Ware in 1859, when about 
seventy-two years of age. 

Charles E. Blood attended the district and 
high schools; and, when fifteen years of age, 
he entered the straw shop of Avery Clark, 
who was at that time the only manufacturer of 
straw goods in Ware. Five years later he left 
that position, and went to Medway, Mass., 
where he taught school during two winters, 
and also worked in the straw shop there. The 
work was then all performed by hand. He 
remained there until 1848, at which time he 
went to Sag Harbor, Long Island, established 
a straw-goods manufactory as agent for a New 
York house, and conducted it for two years. 
He next returned to Ware, and, in company 
with his brother Henry, erected a straw shop. 
The firm was dissolved two years later, after 
which he carried on the business alone. In 
this business he employed for part of the time 
about three hundred women and twenty -five 
men. He disposed of the business in 1S75, 
and then purchased a drug store, which he and 
his sou Fred conducted for about fifteen years. 
Although he has now retired from regular 
business, he is connected with various enter- 
prises. 

On June 10, 1850, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Mary Perry, and their union 
was blessed bv the birth of lour children, 
namely: Frederick C, of Ware, who is mar- 
ried, and has four sons; George Franklin, a 
painter, who died when about thirty-two years 
of age, leaving a widow, but no children; 



Gertrude C, the wife of Isaac Jeffries, of 
Ware, having four children; and Mary Eliza, 
who married Elliott Cleveland, of Athol, 
Mass., and has three children. Mrs. Blood 
died in 1891, sixty-five years of age. On 
May 27, 1892, he was married a second time 
to Mrs. Eucla Blodgett, previously Miss 
Spooner, of Ware. 

Mr. Blood belongs to the Republican party, 
of which he is a faithful adherent. He has 
served most acceptably as Selectman for two 
years, Overseer of the Poor for twelve years, 
and Assessor for two years. He has also 
served on the School Board, and has been 
Special Commissioner of Hampshire County 
since 1878. He acted as clerk of Fire Dis- 
trict No. 1 for several years, was for a long 
time the Treasurer of the Mutual Protective 
Association, and was also Treasurer of the 
Oregon Engine Company for a number of 
years. Mr. Blood is a communicant of the 
Congregational church, and served for several 
terms on the Prudential Committee. The 
family reside at 72 South Street, in the house 
erected by his father about fifty-five years ago. 




ENJAMIN T. HARWOOD, a prom- 
inent farmer of Enfield, also en- 
gaged in butchering, was born in 
that place on May 6, 1825. He is a son of 
Abel and Polly (Townsend) Harwood and a 
grandson of Benjamin Harwood. 

Benjamin Harwood, who was born in Hard- 
wick, Mass., was one of the early settlers of 
Enfield. He was both a carpenter and a 
blacksmith, and followed both trades through- 
out the active period of his life. He served 
acceptably as Selectman of his town, and also 
as a Representative to the State legislature. 
He was a member of the Orthodox church. 
His death occurred in Enfield village, when 



-7 s 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



he was eighty-six years of age. He was the 
father of seven children, all of whom attained 
maturity, but none are now living. They 
were: Betsey, Abel, Harriet, Benjamin R., 
Harlen, Ezra A., and Burnice. 

Abel Harwood became a mechanic, and for 
twenty-seven years was employed in the 
Woods Brothers' card manufactory at Enfield. 
Later in life he engaged in the meat business. 
He lived but fifty-seven years, dying on the 
old homestead. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Polly Townsend, bore him six chil- 
dren, of whom four grew to maturity. Of 
these three are now living, namely: Benjamin 
T. ; Myron VV., a carpenter in Springfield, 
Mass. ; and Charles E., a Congregational 
minister, living in Maine. The deceased 
were: William C, Elizabeth, and Reuel S. 

Benjamin T. Harwood grew to manhood in 
Enfield, receiving his education in the public 
schools of that town. He then learned the 
trade of a butcher: and at his father's decease 
he proceeded to start in the business alone, 
ami has continued to follow it since that time. 
For twenty-seven years he ran a meat cart 
throughout Enfield and vicinity. He has 
made a specialty of killing veal calves for the 
Boston market, slaughtering as many as nine 
hundred in a single year. He has been en- 
gaged in this branch of his business during 
the past forty-six years. In addition to his 
meat business he owns a good farm, which he 
carries on with success. On May I, 1848, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Lydia P. 
Chaffee. She died on June 10, 1878. In 
1881, on January 11, he married a second 
time, taking for his wife Miss Frances A. 
Hutchinson. He is the father of four chil- 
dren — namely, Charles E., George S., Wil- 
lard I., and Clara J. — all of whom reside in 
Enfield; and the last named lives at home. 
Mr. Harwood is one of the best-known resi- 



dents of Hampshire County, and has a large 
circle of friends and acquaintances. He votes 
the Republican ticket. 



(OBERT M. KEATING, Superintend- 



-10OB] 

I ^ ent and Treasurer of the Keating 
*-? V ^ Wheel Company, of which he was 
the organizer, and inventor of the renowned 
Keating bicycle, was born in the city of 
Springfield, September 22, 1862. His father 
and mother, Michael and Catherine (Devitt) 
Keating, were of Irish birth, and were small 
children when their respective parents emi- 
grated to America. Michael Keating, who 
was a mechanic, spent his life in Springfield, 
where he died, leaving a family of five chil- 
dren: Robert M., then a little child too young 
to realize the bereavement; Brightie E., wife 
of Frank E. Burtwell, of Springfield, Mass. ; 
Mary E., the wife of Mr. Joseph F. Quirk, of 
Springfield, who was for some years the gen- 
eral agent of the United States Mutual Acci- 
dent Association of this city; Katie T., who 
is at home; and John D., who is in business 
with his brother Robert. Mrs. Catherine D. 
Keating is still living in Springfield, where 
her childhood, maidenhood, and married life 
have all been passed. 

Immediately after completing the course of 
the city schools, young Robert, whose natural 
tastes all inclined toward mechanics, entered 
the machine shop of Richard & Dole, and 
there served an apprenticeship. He easily 
secured employment afterward in the city and 
vicinity, where his superior skill was speedily 
recognized, and brought its just compensation. 
While steadily engaged at his work, he re- 
ceived patents on several new inventions; and, 
when the bicycle was put on the market, he 
was among the first men in the city to own 
one. Mr. Keating worked in several bicycle 




> 







ROBERT M. KEATING. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



■- , 



manufactories, in one of the largest of which 
he was superintendent: and thus, having 
ample opportunities to observe the imperfec- 
tions of the various kinds in use, he was led 
to make improvements. Before long he had 
designed, patented, and built the first model 
of his own invention, the wheel now known as 
the Keating wheel, which was the first light- 
weight bicycle ever made for road use. This 
was in 1890. The safeties had just come in: 
and Mr. Keating made many improvements in 
this style, besides originating the light- 
weight. The bicycles then in use weighed 
from fifty to sixty pounds, and Mr. Keating's 
thirty-two-pound racer was at first regarded as 
of doubtful success. Being firmly built, it 
kept its ground ; and the subsequent build of 
racing wheels, which average from fifteen to 
twenty-one pounds, has proved his practical 
wisdom. 

The Keating wheel having stood the test of 
many trials, he had no difficulty in organizing 
a stock company, which was incorporated a 
few years since with a capital of ten thousand 
dollars. At Westfield, Mass., the first factory 
was established, in which ten men were em- 
ployed and during the first season seventy-five 
wheels were made. Seeing that a larger field 
of action was necessary for the success of the 
enterprise, the company moved the plant to 
Holyoke: and the capital stock was increased 
to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In 
this factory more automatic machinery is used 
than in any other bicycle factory, much of 
which machinery has been invented by Mr. 
Keating. The establishment is a four-story 
building, covering an area of fifty thousand 
square feet of space. Its three hundred 
workmen produce ten thousand wheels annu- 
ally. The company puts on the market 
wheels weighing from nineteen pounds up to 
twenty-three pounds, and conservative gaugers 



pronounce the Keating bicycle factory the 
best equipped in the country. Mr. Keating 
has from the start been the Vice-President and 
Manager of this company, and its success is 
largely due to his foresight and capacity for 
business as well as to his mechanical skill and 
inventive talent. He is connected with other 
incorporated companies, but that bearing his 
own name naturally has the first place: and in 
its behalf his energies are always in requisi- 
tion. 

Political questions have thus far been of 
small interest to him, his faculties having 
been devoted to the perfecting of intricate 
mechanical appliances and the details of busi- 
ness management. He is yet unmarried, and 
lives with his mother at 30 Adams Street, 
Springfield, Mass. On another page of the 
"Review" will be seen a portrait of this well- 
known wheelman and prominent member of 
the Springfield Bicycle Club, Mr. Keating 
being not only a successful inventor and prac- 
tical machinist, but an accomplished wheel- 
man. 




SAHEL GATES, a well-to-do farmer 
of Pelham, was born in that town, 
August 24, 1827, son of Levi and 
Anna (Houston) Gates. Mr. Gates's grand- 
father, Reuben Gates, was a prosperous farmer 
of Stowe, Mass. He moved to Wendell, 
where he died. Levi Gates, father of Mr. 
Gates, was born in Stowe, February 19, 1 797- 
He was reared to agriculture; and in 1827 he 
moved to Pelham, where he settled upon a 
farm situated in the vicinity of his son's pres- 
ent residence. He was an industrious farmer, 
and became a prominent man in the town. 
He was a Whig in politics, and served as a 
Selectman and in other town offices. He was 
highly esteemed by the community, and at- 
tended the Congregational church. Levi 



2i>2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Gates died in Pelham, September 12, 1851. 
His wife, who was born in Pelham, March 1, 
1799, became the mother of five children, as 
follows: Margaret, who died at the age of 
eighteen; Wealthy, a resident of Easthamp- 
ton; Asahel, the subject of this sketch; 
Lansford, who has been janitor of Amherst 
College for twenty-five years; and Sarah A. 
The mother died March 21, 1847. 

Asahel Gates was educated in the public 
schools of his native town, and resided with 
his parents until he reached the age of twenty- 
one. He then engaged in farming upon 
shares, being thus employed for five years in 
Amherst and two years in Chicopee. In 1859 
he bought the farm where he now resides, and 
which originally consisted of one hundred 
acres. He has since enlarged it by adding a 
valuable wood lot. He carries on general 
farming, and deals in stock to some extent. 
Being a hard worker, he has earned the success 
which has rewarded him. 

Mr. Gates has been twice married. On 
February 24, 1852, he wedded for his first 
wife Laura A. Barrows. She was born in the 
house where Mr. Gates now resides, April 8, 
1827, daughter of Joseph and Patience Bar- 
rows, the former of whom was a prosperous 
farmer of Pelham, and died in 1863. His 
wife, who died in 1859, was the mother of five 
children, all of whom are deceased. By this 
union Mr. Gates has one son, George L., who 
was born in Pelham, January 8, 1856, and is a 
box manufacturer of Leverett. Mr. Gates's 
first wife died November 3, 1888; and on 
December 13, 1893, he married for his second 
wife Mrs. Roselend B. Ober, formerly Miss 
Cook, widow of Asa Ober and daughter of 
Nathaniel and Bethiah (Ward) Cook. Mrs. 
Gates's ancestors came from Rhode Island; 
and her grandfather, Eseck Cook, was an early 
settler and a prosperous farmer of Pelham. 



He was a strict Quaker and an upright man in 
all of his dealings. He died at the age of 
eighty-two; and his wife, Thankful Cook, 
died aged seventy-two years. Nathaniel 
Cook, Mrs. Gates's father, was born in Pel- 
ham, and followed agriculture during his en- 
tire life. He was deeply interested in the 
welfare of the town, was a prominent man in 
his day, and was a Democrat in politics. 
Nathaniel Cook died in Pelham, aged seventy- 
six. His wife, who was a native of Belcher- 
town, died in Pelham, aged sixty years. She 
was the mother of twelve children, namely: 
Sarah, deceased, who married George Gard- 
ner; Horace W. ; Henry N., a farmer of Pel- 
ham; Roselend B. ; Theodore F., of Pelham; 
Smith M., of Pelham; Fenner D., a mechanic 
of Florence; Delphia, who married Abner 
Peck, and resides at the Cook homestead in 
Pelham; Elisha W., a dentist of Cambridge, 
Mass.; Hattie E., widow of S. C. Neal, re- 
siding in Amherst ; Mary, who married Fred 
Staples, and resides in North Attleboro, 
Mass. ; and Elmira, who lives in Belchertown, 
and is the widow of Theodore Gould. 

Mr. Gates is a Republican in politics, and 
has served with ability in positions of respon- 
sibility and trust. He has been a member of 
the Board of Selectmen for several years, has 
filled the offices of Assessor, Overseer of the 
Poor, and member of School Committee, and 
in 1874 represented his district in the legis- 
lature. He attends the Congregational church. 



KYMAN D. POTTER, a retired farmer 
and the chairman of the Board of Se- 
^*y lectmen of Enfield, was born in that 
town, May 31, 1832, son of Benjamin F. and 
Lydia (Day) Potter. 

Mr. Potter's father was born in North 
Brookfield, Mass., September 7, 1791. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



28- 



Iearned the trade of a brick mason, an occupa- 
tion which he followed in early manhood. 
Later he engaged in agriculture, becoming a 
prosperous farmer, and continuing in that call- 
ing for the remainder of his life. He settled 
in Enfield in 1823, and purchased a farm of 
one hundred and twenty-five acres, which he 
cultivated successfully. Me was also a horse 
dealer, making a specialty of buying and sell- 
ing good horses. Another source of profit 
were his investments in outlying land. By 
industry and careful judgment he acquired 
through these means a comfortable competency. 
He was a Democrat in politics, was prominent 
in local public affairs, and served as a Se- 
lectman for two terms, besides holding other 
important offices. He died in Enfield, No- 
vember 29, 1843. His wife, who was born in 
Holliston, Mass., in 1790, became the mother 
of five children. Two of them died young, 
three reached maturity, and one survives. 
The survivor is Lyman D., the subject of 
this sketch, who was the youngest. Those 
deceased were: Appleton, who died aged two 
years; Nathan, who died at the age of fifty- 
five; Henry M., who died aged sixty-two; and 
a child who died in infancy. The mother 
died in Enfield, August 10, 1868. 

Lyman D. Potter received his elementary 
education in the common schools of his native 
town, and completed his studies at the East- 
hampton and Monson Academies. When eigh- 
teen years old, he engaged in general farming 
at the homestead. This property he inherited 
at his father's death, and he continued to re- 
side there for nearly forty years. He devoted 
much attention to dairying, with the most 
gratifying results, and became exceedingly 
proficient in that branch of agriculture. In 
1879 he sold his farm property, and, retiring 
from agricultural pursuits, moved to his pres- 
ent home in the village, where he has since 



passed his time in managing his private affairs 
and attending to his official duties. 

In politics he is a supporter of the Republi- 
can party, and is a leading spirit in public- 
affairs. For the past seventeen years he has 
been a member of the Board of Assessors; and 
for the past twelve years he has been in the 
Board of Selectmen, of which latter body at 
the present time he is the chairman. In 
1884 he was elected to represent his district 
in the legislature, and performed his duties 
with marked ability. 

Mr. Potter has been twice married. On 
October 25, 1855, ne was first married to Jane 
F. Shearer, of Enfield. She died December 
27, 1S61, leaving two children, namely: Al- 
bert H., who died in 1863; and Charles F., 
who died in 1892. On March 24, 1863, he 
wedded for his second wife Mary J. Gleason, 
who was born in West Brookfield, Mass., 
March 29, 1834. Mr. Potter has been a 
stirring, industrious, and successful farmer, 
and is an intelligent and useful citizen. He 
is well known ami highly esteemed by his 
fellow-townsmen both for his distinguished 
public services and his many amiable quali- 
ties. He resides in one of the most charm- 
ing and picturesque locations in the beautiful 
village of Enfield. He is a member of the 
Congregational church, and has served as a 
member of the parish committee for the past 
twelve years. 

[^Frederick Austin OjSgood, a 

L (j native of Hampshire County and a 

practical and enterprising agriculturist 

of Middlefield, Mass., was born in Worthing- 

ton, February 23, 1859, son of George and 

Lucy Maria (Allen) Osgood. 

His grandfather, Safford Osgood, who was 
born in Keene, N.H., lived in his native 
town until he was fourteen years of age. He 



-•*■! 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



then moved to Lebanon Springs, N.Y., where 
he stayed for several years. He next went to 
Peru, Mass., and engaged in farming. Later 
on he moved to Worthington, where he passed 
the last years of his life. He died when 
within but three years of being a centenarian. 
George Osgood was born in Worthington, 
and lived with his father until the latter's 
death. He then purchased the old homestead, 
which contained two hundred and fifty acres of 
good farm land. He was a mason by trade, 
and devoted his attention chiefly to that avo- 
cation, delegating the management of his farm 
to his son Frederick Austin as soon as the lat- 
ter was old enough to take the responsibility. 
The father died July 18, 1889. The mother, 
a native of Washington, Mass., is still living 
on the old homestead. She and her husband 
had seven children, namely: F. A. Osgood; 
Alice; Eddie; Ida, deceased; Lena, who is a 
successful school-teacher; George, who re- 
sides at home; and a child that died in in- 
fancy. The children had few educational 
advantages, and were for the most part self- 
educated. In politics the father was a Repub- 
lican. He was a popular man, and served his 
town several terms as Selectman. 

Frederick Austin Osgood remained with his 
father until he attained his majority. He 
then worked in different places until his mar- 
riage, when he settled down to an agricultural 
life, in which he has been deservedly success- 
ful. In 1883 he was united in marriage to 
Miss Fannie Brown, who was born in Worth- 
ington in 1S62, and is a daughter of Castanas 
Brown. Her father is a carpenter by trade, 
and also a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Osgood's 
home has been brightened by the birth of 
three children; namely, Lillian, Vrena, and 
Roy. 

Mr. Osgood is a stanch Republican. He is 
actively interested in the welfare of his town, 



which he has served acceptably as Road Com- 
missioner for two years. He is well known 
throughout the county as a man of good busi- 
ness ability and upright character. 




RS. MARY F. ANDREWS, widow 
of the late Willard G. Andrews, 
who died in Ware, Mass., on June 
28, 1880, sixty-nine years of age, was born in 
Granby, Mass., November 6, 181 3, and is a 
daughter of Timothy P. and Esther (Dunbar) 
Marsh, respectively natives of Old Hadley 
and Foxboro, Mass. 

Her father was a successful agriculturist, 
and also engaged in the business of a clothier, 
having his cloth-dressing establishment on his 
farm. His wife bore him ten children, five 
sons and five daughters, all of whom, except 
two sons, lived to adult life. Three sons and 
three daughters married, and all except Mrs. 
Andrews reared families of children. One 
daughter, Laura, died at the age of nineteen 
years. Their father died in 1828, sixty-two 
years of age; and their mother in 1856, eighty 
years old. Mrs. Andrews was the ninth child 
born to her parents, and is now the only sur- 
vivor. 

Her marriage with Willard G. Andrews was 
performed in 1836. He was a son of Prince 
and Clarissa (Morse) Andrews, of Ware, and 
grandson of Phillip Morse. His parents had 
a family of twelve children, seven sons and 
.five daughters. Of these, two sons died in in- 
fancy, and all the rest subsequently, with the 
exreption of Calvin and Jerome, who reside in 
De Kalb County, Illinois. Their mother died 
in 1837, over eighty years of age. After Mis. 
Andrews's marriage she and her husband 
lived for a year in Illinois. In 1840 they re- 
turned to Ware, where the remainder of the 
forty-four years of their married life was hap- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



285 



pily spent, and where she is still residing. 
Mr. Andrews, who was a highly respected and 
honored citizen of Ware, was a successful 
dealer in farm machinery, and had acquired a 
moderate competency before his death. Mrs. 
Andrews is a consistent member of the First 
Congregational Church of Ware Centre, of 
which her husband was also a communicant. 



(JffOHN N. PITMAN, a prominent citi- 
zen of Pelham, who owns and culti- 
vates a fine farm in that town, was born 
in South Kingston, R.I., May 19, 1828, son 
of George B. and Abigail (Nichols) Pitman, 
the former a native of Newport, born July 5, 
1788, the latter of South Kingston, born Sep- 
tember 13, 1792. George Pitman was a hat- 
ter by trade, but spent the greater part of his 
lite in agricultural occupations. He moved 
to Pelham in 1830, and settled on the farm 
where his son now resides. His steady and 
judicious labor upon it greatly enhanced its 
value for his son. He died April 28, 1861. 
He was married March 5, 1820, to Abigail 
Nichols, who died March 27, 1845. She was 
the mother of five children, only one of whom 

-the subject of this sketch — is now living. 
John N. Pitman grew to manhood in Pel- 
ham, receiving a good common-school educa- 
tion in that town. He became familiar with 
agricultural life on the home farm; and 
when a young man, he learned the carpenter's 
trade, at which he worked at intervals during 
his after life. He purchased many years ago 
the land which he now cultivates, and has 
spent many a busy day in the labors of hus- 
bandry, from the time 

•■ When the summer calleth 
On forest and field of grain. 
And with equal murmur falleth 
The cooling drip of the rain," 



till the season when the forces of nature 
fall asleep under the stilling mantle of the 
snow. His estate comprises forty acres of 
land, which is devoted to general farming; 
and Mr. Pitman also has some fine live stock. 
In politics he is independent. On religious 
subjects he holds liberal views. He is well 
endowed with the goods of this world, which 
he acquired by his own untiring labor, and is 
one of the oldest, as he is one of the most re- 
spected, residents of Pelham. Mr. Pitman is 
unmarried. 




LMER F. RICHARDSON, Town 
Clerk of Ware for nearly twenty 
years, was born there on October 
21, 1847, son of Winthrop and Fannie D. 
(Thompson") Richardson. 

Willard Richardson, his grandfather, fol- 
lowed the occupation of a farmer, and was also 
a nail-maker by trade, wrought nails being 
then in use. He was the father of three sons 
and two daughters, all of whom are now dead, 
although they all lived to marry and rear fam- 
ilies of children. Winthrop Richardson, who 
was born in Brookfield, Worcester County, 
Mass., in 1804, turned his attention to shoe- 
making, and was also the owner of a small 
farm. He died in 1877, seventy-three years 
of age. His wife, to whom he was married in 
March, 1832, was a daughter of Samuel 
Thompson. She was born in Ware in 1805. 
Her mother, whose maiden name was Barnes, 
reared a family of two sons and four daugh- 
ters, all of whom have since died. Mrs. 
Richardson bore her husband seven children, 
four sons and three daughters, as follows: 
Theodore, who died when about eleven years 
old; Adeline and Laurinda, who died in 
childhood; Edwin E. Richardson, now resid- 
ing in Ware; Laura J., who married Henry 
H. Bush, and died in 1888, at forty-six years 



286 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of age, leaving two children; Alfred H. 
Richardson, living in Gilbertville, Mass., 
where he is engaged as the paymaster of the 
George H. Gilbert Manufacturing Company; 
and Aimer F. Richardson, the subject of this 
sketch. The mother died in 1869, sixty-three 
years of age. 

Aimer F. Richardson spent the early years 
of his life on his father's farm. At sixteen 
years of age he began to work out by the 
month on neighboring farms during the sum- 
mer; but he attended school in the winter 
season, passing in due time from the district 
school to the Ware High School. In June, 
1865, he obtained a position as clerk in the 
general store of P. D. Willis, with whom he 
remained two years. The following year he 
had a similar position in the store of Harding, 
Woods & Co. at Barre, Mass., the next in the 
clothing store of Virgil Guild in Ware, the 
next two years in the general store of Calvin 
Hitchcock, and the next two years with C. F. 
Hitchcock & Co., of Gilbertville. On Febru- 
ary 20, 1874, he came to his present store, 
and entered the shoe business as a partner of 
Calvin Hitchcock & Son, which afterward be- 
came the firm of A. F. Richardson & Co. 
On January 1, 1883, Mr. Richardson pur- 
chased his partners' interests, and has con- 
ducted the business alone since that time. 

He was married on October 5, 1880, to 
Miss Amie L. Newton, a daughter of Stephen 
E. and Thirza L. (Pierce) Newton, of Hard- 
wick. She died on July 26, 1881, leaving 
one daughter, Edith L. Richardson, who was 
then but three weeks old. Miss Richardson 
is now fourteen years old, and is her father's 
constant companion. 

In general elections Mr. Richardson votes 
the Republican ticket. He has served one 
term of seven years as Justice, and has been 
reappointed for another term. In March, 



1876, he was elected Town Clerk; and he has 
held the office continuously since that time. 
Ex officio he is a registrar of voters, and 
has a part in the naturalization of voters. 
He also does some probate business, being 
frequently engaged in the settlement of es- 
tates ; and for fifteen years he acted as the auc- 
tioneer of that section. He is a member of 
the corporation of the Ware Savings Bank. 
In both business and political life he has won 
the respect of his fellow-citizens. 




ON. BARNEY T. WETHERELL, 

widely and favorably known as a 
wealthy and influential resident of 
Southampton, is numbered among the leading 
agriculturists of Hampshire County, wherein 
a large part of his years of useful activity 
have been spent. He was born in Plymouth 
County, October 14, 1822, son of Tisdel and 
Elizabeth (Reed) Wetherell. 

The father of Mr. Wetherell was a native 
of this county, and here grew to maturity. 
When a young man, he went to Plymouth 
County with a drove of cattle, and, being 
pleased with the locality, remained there some 
time, engaging in the work of laying stone 
walls. He also cultivated the acquaintance of 
a Miss Reed, whom he married, and a few 
years later returned with her to Worth ington, 
where he lived a year, going thence to Hol- 
yoke, which was their place of residence until 
they finally went back to Plymouth County. 
Both he and his wife spent their remaining 
years in Middleboro, his death occurring in 
1830, and hers in the same town in 1834. 
They were the parents of four children: Bar- 
ney T. ; Samuel, now a resident of Holyoke; 
Amanda, deceased, who was the wife of Mr. 
Henry Caswell; and Elizabeth, widow of H. 
Leonard, residing in Easthampton. 




BARNEY T. WETHERELL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



289 



Harney T. Wetherell acquired a practical 
education in the district schools in Plymouth 
and Hampshire Counties. At the age of 
twenty-one years he began working for him- 
self; and in addition to general farming, 
which he carried on in Southampton, he was 
employed in getting out barrel staves, a most 
profitable industry. Ambitious, sagacious, 
and enterprising, not afraid to venture in new 
fields, he subsequently engaged in the manu- 
facture of matches, still continuing his agri- 
cultural labors. In i860 Mr. Wetherell 
bought twenty-eight acres of land, the nucleus 
of his present extensive farm, which now 
contains two hundred and twenty-five acres, 
lie being one of the largest landholders of this 
vicinity and the heaviest tax-payer in the town. 
Fortune has smiled on his undertakings ; and 
in the management of his fanning interests he- 
has met with excellent success, raising each 
year large crops of corn, hay, and tobacco. 

In his early days Mr. Wetherell was identi- 
fied with the Whigs; but on the formation of 
the Republican party he joined its ranks, vot- 
ing that ticket until 1882, since which time 
he has cast his vote independently. He has 
ever taken an intelligent interest in politics, 
and has borne a conspicuous part in town and 
county affairs, serving efficiently in various 
local offices; and in the years 1890 and 1891 
he represented his district in the State legis- 
lature, performing the duties of his position 
with credit to himself and to the satisfaction 
of his worthy constituents. Socially, he is a 
member of the Golden Cross Society of South- 
ampton. 

On August 10, 1842, Mr. Wetherell was 
united in marriage with Adelia Maria Sted- 
maii, a native of Manchester, Conn., where 
her father, Reuben Stedman, a lifelong resi- 
dent of that State, was then employed as a 
book-keeper. The golden anniversary of their 



wedding day, marking a half-century of happy 
companionship, was celebrated in August, 
1892; but a year later, on September 1 r, 
1893, Mrs. Wetherell passed to "fuller life 
beyond." Five children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Wetherell, namely: Georgia Annie, 
the wife of Mr. C. McLean, a prominent busi- 
ness man of Hartford, Conn.; Helen Adelia; 
Arthur B. , a well-known physician of Hol- 
yoke and a valued member of the Masonic 
fraternity; Lois Stedman, wife of William 
Smith, of Holyoke: and one child who died 
in infancy. These children were all the re- 
cipients of excellent educational advantages, 
some being fitted for teachers, and one being 
a graduate of Harvard Medical College. 

A faithful likeness of Mr. Wetherell will be 
recognized among the numerous portraits that 
illustrate this volume of local biographies. 



~|^\ WIGHT PARKER CLAPP, a mer- 
I 1 chant of New York, whose family 
^~imL^ resides in Belchertown, was born in 
this town, November 22, 1834. He is a 
descendant of Captain Roger Clapp, who emi- 
grated from England to the Colony of Massa- 
chusetts Bay by the ship "Mary and John," 
and settled in Dorchester, Mass., in the year 
1630. Captain Clapp in time became one of 
the foremost men in the colony. He was for 
many years Commandant of the fort in Boston 
Harbor, and was buried with military honors 
in the King's Chapel burial-ground at Boston 
in the year 1690. His descendants for two 
or three generations were closely identified 
with Colonial affairs; and for an extended 
account of them the reader is referred to a 
work entitled "Memories of Roger Clapp," 
which was issued by David Clapp in 1844, 
and may be found in the rooms of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society. 



2go 



IUOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Clapp's father, James Harvey Clapp, 
who was born at Northampton, March 5, 1792, 
was son of Ebenezer Clapp, who was born in 
the same town in 1730. Ebenezer Clapp was 
a son of Ebenezer, whose birth occurred in 
1707. Ebenezer, Sr., was a son of Samuel 
Clapp, who, born at Northampton in 1677, 
died in 1761. Samuel Clapp was a son of 
Preserved Clapp, who, born at Dorchester, 
November 23, 1643, died September 20, 1720. 
Preserved Clapp was a son of the original an- 
cestor of the family in America, Captain 
Roger Clapp, as above mentioned. Preserved 
Clapp moved to Northampton in early life, 
and purchased land, upon which he settled, 
becoming one of the first settlers of that town, 
where he engaged in agriculture. He was 
Captain of the town, Representative to the 
General Court, and Ruling Elder in the 
church. His son Samuel inherited the home- 
stead, where he resided his entire life. His 
third wife, who was Mary Sheldon, of Dor- 
chester, together with the Rev. John Will- 
iams, was carried into captivity by the Indians 
of Deerfield in 1704. Ebenezer Clapp, who 
succeeded to his father's property, served as a 
soldier in Captain Phineas Stevens's com- 
pany during the French and Indian War, and 
fought at "Number Four," now Charlestown, 
N.H., in 1746. He was succeeded in turn by 
his son Ebenezer, Jr., who married Nancy 
Tileston, of Dorchester, and moved to Pitts- 
field, where he died. 

James Harvey Clapp, subsequent to com- 
pleting his education, which was obtained in 
the common schools, settled at Belchertown 
in 1812, and married Marilla D., daughter of 
the Rev. John Francis, of Pittsfield, in 181 5. 
Their eight children were: Juliet; John Fran- 
cis, who founded the Belchertown Public Li- 
brary; Ann Sophia; Everett; Jane Marilla; 
James Henry; Edward Lyman; and Dwight 



Parker. James Harvey Clapp was prominent 
in public affairs, having served the town as 
a Selectman, and having been County Commis- 
sioner, and a Representative to the legislature 
for three terms. He was one of the proprietors 
of the old Boston and Albany stage line. A 
man of the most rigid integrity, he had the sin- 
cere respect of the entire community. His de- 
cease occurred in his eightieth year, on April 
23, 1871. 

Dwight Parker Clapp was very carefully 
educated, as were his brothers and sisters, in 
the common schools and the Monson Acad- 
emy. Upon finishing his education, he im- 
mediately entered mercantile life in New 
York City, becoming a very prominent and 
successful merchant. In 1865 he wedded 
Miss I Hie Crawford, of Cleveland, Ohio. 
Their only daughter, Illie Crawford Clapp, 
who was born in Brooklyn, is now the wife of 
William Burr Hill, a very successful attorney 
of that city, having one son, William Bun- 
Hill, Jr., whose birth occurred in May, 1892. 
The children of James Harvey Clapp have al- 
ways shown an affectionate interest in the 
welfare of their native town, of which the 
magnificent public library, founded by John 
Francis Clapp, is ample testimony. 

John Francis Clapp, eldest son of James 
Harvey Clapp and founder of the Clapp 
Memorial Library, was born in Belchertown 
in the year 18 18. By his will, probated in 
Brooklyn, N.Y., August 8, 1882, he be- 
queathed in trust to his brothers, Everett and 
Dwight P. Clapp, the sum of forty thousand 
dollars for the purpose of establishing a pub- 
lic library in his native town. By judicious 
investments the trustees increased the legacy 
to nearly forty-seven thousand dollars. The 
library building was commenced in the sum- 
mer of 1883, and finished in 1887. A charter 
was granted the Clapp Memorial Library Cor- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



? 9 t 



poration by the Massachusetts legislature on 
March 31 of the same year. The library was 
dedicated on June 30, and opened to the pub- 
lic on the following September I. 

The library grounds have a frontage of two 
hundred and thirty-eight feet on South Main 
Street and a depth of two hundred and sixty- 
eight feet. The building, which is in the 
form of a Latin cross, is one hundred and two 
feet in length and from forty to fifty-five feet 
in breadth, with an octagonal tower at the 
junction of the cross section and main build- 
ing sixty-five feet in height. It consists of 
a basement and two stories, and is built of 
Longmeadow brownstone, the roof and tower 
being covered with red tiling. A reading- 
room and stage are on the first floor, and are 
so arranged that they can all be thrown into 
one large auditorium, twenty-six feet in 
height and capable of seating five hundred 
persons. On the second floor there is a di- 
rectors' room, and in the basement a room for 
classes. The present shelf capacity is fifteen 
thousand volumes, which, with slight altera- 
tion, can be increased to thirty thousand. At 
the north and south ends of the building are 
two large and beautiful memorial windows. 
The north window, presented by Mrs. Susan 
M. D. Bridgman in memory of her husband, 
Calvin Bridgman, who bequeathed four thou- 
sand dollars for the support of a public library, 
represents music. The south window was 
presented by Everett, Edward, and Dwight P. 
Clapp in memory of their brother, the subject 
being literature, and the figure symbolical of 
thought and repose. 

The library now contains six thousand vol- 
umes, besides numerous periodicals and news- 
papers of the day, and is open daily in the 
afternoon to the reading public. It is an im- 
posing structure, the main feature of the town. 
and a monument to the generous founder and 



his sympathetic and noble-minded brothers, 
who have shown in various ways the interest 
they take in the welfare of their native vil- 
lage, all of whom are successful merchants 
in the metropolis. Everett, Edward, and 
Dwight P. have fine country residences for 
the purpose of spending the summer months 
with their families on their native heath. 



JUSTIN YV. KEITH, Town Clerk of 
Pelham, was born in Palmer, Hampden 
County, Mass., February 7, 1S47, -son 
of Ariel Cooley and Lodica (Daniels) Keith, 
the former a native of Enfield, born June 15, 
1816, the latter a native of Ludlow, born Mliv 
26, 1 82 1 . Mr. Keith's paternal grandfather, 
Daniel Keith, was born in Bridgewater, 
Mass., in 1780. He owned a farm in Ware, 
and was actively engaged in agriculture dur- 
ing the greater part of his life. He died in 
Belchertown at the age of sixty-three years. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia 
Frost, was a native of Ludlow. She was the 
mother of ten children, all of whom grew to 
maturity, but are now deceased. In politics 
Daniel Keith was a Whig. He and his wife 
were members oi the Presbyterian church. 

Ariel Cooley Keith, the father of Justin 
W. Keith, spent the early part of his life in 
New York State. He was for some years en- 
gaged in selling silverware, travelling from 
place to place, and visited many different 
States in the pursuit of his calling. In [839 
he purchased some land in Belchertown, and 
was engaged in farming on it for three years. 
Becoming dissatisfied with this life, he tried 
other ways of earning a livelihood. lie 
finally settled in Palmer, Mass., where he was 
overseer of the Fondack Cotton Factory for 
nearly fifteen years. He performed his work 
in an efficient manner, was very popular with 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the help, and was esteemed by his employers. 
But his health, impaired by the indoor work, 
compelled him to resign his position; and 
then for a short time he engaged in the livery 
business in Palmer. In the fall of 1857 he 
moved to West Pelham, where he resided 
many years while occupied in fanning. His 
farming ventures turned out well this time, 
and the result was that he became the owner 
of considerable real estate in Pelham and in 
Fondack village. In 1870 he moved to the 
home where his son now lives, and there his 
last years were spent. He died December 2, 
1880. In politics Mr. Keith was a Republi- 
can. He took a prominent part in town 
affairs. He was Town Clerk and Town Treas- 
urer seven years. He was also Assessor and 
Tax Collector. His religious views were lib- 
eral. 

On May 9, 1839, Mr. Keith was married to 
Lodica Daniels, daughter of Justin and Pru- 
dence (Shaw) Daniels. The father was a na- 
tive of Ludlow, born in March, 1792, the 
mother of Palmer, born in September, 1793. 
Justin Daniels (the maternal grandfather of 
our subject) was a prominent citizen of Lud- 
low, who owned and industriously cultivated 
a large farm in that town. It is said that he 
was the owner of the first carriage ever seen 
in the town. His last years were spent in 
Wilbraham, where he died January 17, 1866. 
His wife had preceded him to the grave, hav- 
ing died in August, 1863. In politics Justin 
Daniels was a strong Whig, and he took an 
active part in the town government. He and 
his wife were members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. They had two children: Mrs. 
Keith; and Marcus, born January 12, 1824, 
who resides on the homestead in Wilbraham. 
Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Keith 
but one is now living: Justin W., the subject 
of this sketch. Ellen J., who was born Octo- 



ber 29, 1844, died September 3, 1845; and 
Elmira J., born June 23, 1840, died October 
26, 1853. Mrs. Keith is still living, resid- 
ing with her son, Justin W. Like her par- 
ents, she belongs to the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 

Justin W. Keith was a boy of ten when his 
father removed to Pelham, and in that town 
he has resided for nearly thirty years. He 
received a good common-school education, and 
early engaged in farming, which eventually 
became his chief occupation. He now owns 
seventy-five acres of land, a large part of which 
is cultivated. 

Mr. Keith was married in Boston, Novem- 
ber 28, 1890, to Mary A., daughter of David 
and Emeline A. (Paull) Shores and grand- 
daughter of Silas and Abigail (Stacy) Shores. 
The grandparents came originally from Taun- 
ton, Mass. Silas Shores was a Congrega- 
tional minister, and in early life was a mis- 
sionary. He had charge of a parish in 
Shutesbury for some time, and, when in- 
capacitated for evangelical work by ill health, 
settled on a farm in that town, and there died 
at the age of sixty-one. His wife lived to be 
eighty-three years of age. The following 
children were born to them: Jemima, wife of 
Henry O. Bragg, of Foxboro; Mary C, wife 
of Warren S. Bragg, of Cambridgeport ; and 
David, the father of Mrs. Keith. David 
Shores worked at farming in his early youth, 
and later engaged in the manufacture of char- 
coal in Shutesbury. In 1865 he moved to 
the eastern part of Pelham, where he now re- 
sides, carrying on general farming and char- 
coal burning. His average annual output of 
charcoal is fifty-two carloads — between fifty 
thousand and sixty thousand bushels. Mr. 
Shores is the largest land-owner and tax-payer 
in the town of Pelham. In politics he is a 
Republican. He served for some time as Se- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



293 



lectman, but his business cares are too great 
to allow of his holding public office. Mr. 
Shores was married December 7, 1845, t0 
Emeline A., daughter of Nathan and Melita 
(Fish) Paull, the former of Berkley, the lat- 
ter of Shutesbury. Mr. Paul] was a carpen- 
ter, and was also actively engaged in farming. 
In politics he was first a Whig and then a 
Republican. He and his wife were members 
of the Congregational church. They were 
the parents of seven children, of whom four 
are living, Mrs. Shores being the oldest. 
Lucy A. is the widow of Stillman Clark. 
Lucetta H. is the widow of Windsor Smith, 
and resides in Warsaw, N.Y. Nelson W. 
resides in Shutesbury. The following chil- 
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shores: Silas 
S., born in Shutesbury, February 23, 1847, a 
pension and insurance agent and Justice of the 
Peace in Pelham; David FL, born July 17, 
1849, a resident of Hyde Park, Mass.; Benja- 
min, born July 27, 1 85 1, Assessor and Over- 
seer of the Poor in Pelham; George H., born 
July 13, 1854, a resident of Springfield, 
Mass.; Jonathan E., born January 28, 1857, 
a blacksmith of Springfield; Charles B., born 
April 27, 1859, a carpenter in Amherst; 
Mary A., wife of Justin W. Keith; Nellie 
M., born in Pelham, November 24, 1869, who 
is still with her parents. Frank L. died Au- 
gust 27, 1865, in his seventh year. The two 
elder sons of Mr. Shores, who reside in Pel- 
ham, are unmarried. They are actively en- 
gaged with their father in the charcoal busi- 
ness. Mr. and Mrs. Keith have no children. 
In politics Mr. Keith is independent, but 
favors the Republican party. He takes an 
active part in the town government. For 
thirteen years he has been Town Clerk and 
Town Treasurer. He has also been Tax Col- 
lector, and has filled other offices. He is a 
member of the order of A. F. & A. M., be- 



longing to Pacific Lodge of Amherst and to 
the Chapter at Northampton. In his religious 
views he is liberal. Mrs. Keith is a member 
of the Congregational church. 




iNRY C. DAVIS, one .if the leading 

attorneys of Ware, was born at Three 
Rivers, Mass., on October 22, 1843, 
son of Benjamin and Cordelia (Buffington) 
Davis. 

His grandfather Davis, who also bore the 
Christian name of Benjamin, was born in Ox- 
ford, Mass., in 1774, son of Craft Davis. He 
was a farmer in humble circumstances, and the 
larger part of his life was spent in North 
Brookfield and in Ware. He died in the latter 
place in i860, at the advanced age of eighty- 
six years. He married Miss Theodosia 
Barnes; ami their union was blessed by the 
birth of three sons and six daughters, all of 
whom lived to maturity, though two of the 
daughters died in early womanhood. The only 
survivors are: Dr. W. G. Davis, of Schenec- 
tady, N. Y. ; and Mrs. Sarah Brooks, the 
widow of James F. Brooks, residing at Stafford 
Springs, Conn. Of the deceased, Mrs. Nancy 
Goodwin died at Springfield, Mass., in her 
eighty-sixth year, leaving two children. Mrs. 
Cynthia Loomis, who resided in Ware, died 
aged eighty-eight years, leaving one daughter. 
The Rev. William Davis lived to be eighty- 
six years old, and left at his death six daugh- 
ters and a son, the Rev. William P. Davis, of 
Lebanon, N.J. Mrs. Almira Whittaker, who 
was born in 1S02, died at the age of ninety- 
three years. The mother survived the father 
by two years, dying in 1S62, eighty-six years 
of age. Both rest in the Ware cemetery. 

Benjamin Davis, Jr., who was born in 
Ware, July 16, 181 i, spent his early years on 
his father's farm. He afterward turned his 



294 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



attention to the manufacture of cotton goods, 
which he followed with success for many years. 
He removed to Palmer, Mass., in 1836, re- 
maining there until the spring of 1846, when 
he settled in Ware. Here he continued in the 
cotton-goods business until i860, when he re- 
tired, taking up his residence on a farm sit- 
uated about one mile from the village of Ware. 
He always took an active and prominent part 
in local and general politics; and, being a man 
of high principles and strong character, he was 
one of the leaders in all worthy enterprises. 
He was sent to the legislature in 1858, and 
for over twenty years he served as Assessor. 
He was a Democrat until the starting of the 
Free Soil movement, and was always a Repub- 
lican after the fusion, about 1855. While 
holding the office of Assessor he was stricken 
with paralysis, from the effects of which he 
died within a year, on June 16, 1890, seventy- 
eight years of age. His wife, Cordelia Buf- 
fington, to whom he was married on May 4, 
1836, was born in Connecticut, and was a 
daughter of Royal Buffington. The latter 
afterward removed to Palmer, Mass., where 
he followed the vocation of an agriculturist 
with success. He reared a family of four sons 
and four daughters, of whom two sons and a 
daughter are now living. These are: Jesse 
M. Buffington; Dwight Buffington, of Ware; 
and Mrs. Cynthia Aldrich, of Springfield, 
Mass. Their mother died at the age of sixty- 
nine years. Their father afterward entered 
into a second marriage, and lived to be eighty- 
seven years of age. Mrs. Davis bore her 
husband nine children, an infant son who died 
and four sons and four daughters who attained 
maturity, as follows: Benjamin F. Davis, who 
is extensively engaged in farming in Ware; 
George R. Davis, the Director-general of the 
World's Fair; Henry C. Davis; Jennie C, the 
wife of Albert L. Harwood, of Newton, Mass., 



where her husband is an able lawyer and in- 
fluential citizen; Helen A. Davis, a retired 
school-teacher living at Newton Centre, 
Mass. ; Mary A. B., the wife of Myron L. Har- 
wood, of Ware; A. J. Davis, who is engaged 
in a general insurance business and is a large 
real estate dealer in Ware; and Georgia F. H., 
the wife of A. L. Demond, of Chicago, 111. 

Henry C. Davis acquired his education in 
the public schools of Ware, at Williston Semi- 
nary, and at the Harvard Law School, graduat- 
ing from the latter in the class of 1868, after 
two years spent there. He was admitted to 
the bar in January, 1868; and, after about six 
months spent in the office of Bacon & Al- 
drich at Worcester, he opened the office which 
he now occupies. He is a man of strong 
characteristics and superior legal attainments, 
qualities which have brought him a lucrative 
practice. He is interested in various enter- 
prises in his town, and does a large business in 
real estate and insurance. 

On May 4, 1876, the wedding anniversary 
of both his father and his brother, Andrew J., 
he was joined in marriage with Miss Jennie 
A. Demond, of Ware, a daughter of Lorenzo 
and Jane (Masden) Demond, and a grand- 
daughter of Alpheus Demond. The latter at 
one time owned a large portion of the town of 
Ware, including the sites of the large facto- 
ries; and he was a leader in public affairs. 
Mrs. Davis has now two brothers living, 
namely: Alpheus Demond, of Rochester, 
N. Y. ; and Arthur L. Demond, of Chicago, 
111. She has borne her husband three sons 
and two daughters, as follows: Henry C. 
Davis, Jr., living at home; John A. Davis, 
a youth of sixteen years, who is attending the 
high school; Marion, fourteen years of age, 
who is also in the high school ; May, ten 
years of age; and Arthur L., who is seven 
years old. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



-')5 



In his political relations Mr. Davis is a 
Republican. In 1874 he was sent to the State 
legislature. He has also served in other pub- 
lic offices, among- which may be mentioned 
that of chairman of the School Committee, of 
which board he was a member for about 
twenty-five years. He is a member of King 
Solomon Chapter, Royal .Arch Masons. His 
wife, a most estimable lady, is a member of 
the Congregational church of Ware. They 
reside at 12 Elm Street. 




'ENRV M. WOODS, a resident of 
Greenwich and prominent in town 
affairs, was born in Belchertown, 
Mass., January 19, 1828. His grandfather, 
John Woods, was a native of New Braintree, 
where his father, the great-grandfather of Mr. 
Woods, was a pioneer. John Woods, who was 
a farmer, was one of the brave patriots of 
the Revolution. At the first call to arms he 
left his plough and joined the Continental 
army, and did not return to his peaceful fields 
till the war was over. He had the honor of 
serving under the personal command of Gen- 
eral Washington himself. His discharge, 
signed by General Washington, is still pre- 
served by his grandson. Mr. Woods died on 
the farm at an advanced age. He was twice 
married, and reared four sons and several 
daughters, all of whom have passed away. 

Zenas Woods, born in New Braintree, 
Mass., in 1798, who was the third son of his 
parents, left home at the age of sixteen to 
learn the clothier's trade at North Brookfield, 
and served an apprenticeship of five years, 
remaining until he was twenty-one. For the 
greater part of his life he worked at his trade, 
but his last years were spent in the cultivation 
of his farm in Belchertown. He died at the 
age of seventy-two. His wife, who was a 



native of East Town (now Bridgewater), born 
in 1796, had passed away many years before, 
dying in her fifty-third year. Mr. Woods cast 
his first vote with the old Whig party, and 
his last with the Republicans. On religious 
matters he held liberal views, while his wife 
was a member of the Congregational church. 
They had three sons and one adopted daughter, 
namely: Joseph E., who died at the age of 
sixty-seven, July 3, 1891 ; Cyrus F., who is 
now living in Enfield, retired from active busi- 
ness ; Henry M., the subject of this article; 
and Eliza J., widow of the late Mr. Wilson, 
of Madison, Wis. 

Henry M. Woods grew to manhood in Bel- 
chertown, receiving his education in the dis- 
trict schools. He was reared to farm life, but 
spent some years in the woollen-mills. He 
worked three years in the mills of Enfield and 
one year in those of Granby, where he was 
eventually promoted to the position of over- 
seer. On the death of his mother he returned 
to the home farm, where he remained until 
his fifty-fourth year, caring for his father and 
attending to the general work of the place. 
During this time he purchased other land, 
after which he owned in all about one hundred 
acres in Belchertown and Enfield. In 1882 he 
sold the home farm and moved to Enfield. 
Here he resided some four years, and then, 
in 1886, located in Greenwich on the estate 
which he now occupies. 

April 2", 1848, Mr. Woods was married to 
Sarah F., daughter of Joel and Eunice Whip- 
ple, of Greenwich, where Mrs. Wood was born 
October 24, 1825. Two sons were born of this 
union : George E. and Charles M. The former, 
who was born December 26, 1853, is a resi- 
dent of Guilford, \'t., and has a family of three 
children: Mattie A.. Sadie ]., and George N. 
Charles M. Woods, who was born January 6, 
1855, died at the age of twenty-seven. 



zg6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



In political matters Mr. Woods favors the 
Republican party. Since taking up his resi- 
dence in Greenwich he has given most of his 
time to public affairs, attending closely to 
the duties of his office as Selectman and as 
Overseer of the Poor, positions which he has 
held for many years. He is also a member of 
the Cemetery Commission. Mr. Woods was 
for over forty years a member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, to which his wife still 
belongs; but he is now connected with the 
Congregational Society. 




"ENRY B. ANDERSON, an able and 
practical agriculturist residing near 
Ware, was born in that town, May 
28, 1853, son of Nathaniel H. and Lavasta 
(Ruggles) Anderson. 

His great-grandfather, William Anderson, 
whose birth occurred in 1749, came to Ware 
as a young man and took up a half-mile square 
tract of heavily timbered land. He married 
Miss Sarah Holmes, of New Braintree, Mass. ; 
and there, in a region that might well be 
called a wilderness, they reared a family of 
three sons and three daughters. Many and 
stern were the hardships they suffered. These 
were caused not only by the newness of the 
country, but also by the hostility of the Ind- 
ians, whose descents more than once caused 
them to flee for safety to the fort near by. 
The price paid for the land was two cents per 
acre By diligent work he soon had a portion 
of it cleared and producing crops of grains 
and vegetables. Both he and his wife lived to 
a good age, his death occurring when he was 
eighty-three years old, and that of his wife in 
her seventy-fifth year. They are buried at 
Ware Centre. Their son, Nathaniel H. An- 
derson, was married to Miss Salome Snell, a 
daughter of Thomas Snell, of Bridgewater, 



Mass. He took his bride to the old home- 
stead ; and there they spent their lives, he in 
clearing the land and tilling the soil, and she 
occupied with her household duties. Five 
children were born of their union, two sons 
and three daughters. Of these, one daughter, 
Louisa, died at eight years of age. Susanna 
A., the wife of Emory G. Howard, died in 
1 891, seventy-eight years of age; another 
daughter died unnamed in infancy; and Eras- 
tus died when twenty-five years old, in the 
second year of his college course at Williams- 
town. Their mother was orthodox in her re- 
ligious belief. Both parents died in early 
life, she in 1825, when but thirty-three years 
of age, and he in 1827, at forty-four. 

Nathaniel H. Anderson remained on the old 
homestead, which he inherited after his par- 
ents' death; and his life has been spent there 
in successful farming. On March 20, 1845, 
he was joined in marriage with Miss Lavasta 
Ruggles, of Enfield, Mass., a daughter of Ben- 
jamin Ruggles. She bore her husband five 
sons and a daughter. The daughter, Elizabeth 
F. , is the wife of Joel Nutting, who resides on 
the adjoining farm. Albert Carey, one of the 
sons, died in 1870, twenty years old. Edward 
N., another, born August 27, 1857, a young 
man of marked musical talent and possessing 
a fine tenor voice, having studied in Boston 
and London, taught both vocal and instru- 
mental music, first in Ware, where for a 
number of years he acted as leader of the 
Congregational church choir, and later at the 
Union and Central Church in Worcester, at 
the Elms in Springfield, at the Hartford The- 
ological School, and in Boston, where he had 
pupils. He was also a composer of music. 
His early death on April 1, 1894, at the age 
of thirty-six years, was a deep regret to all 
who knew him ; and he had many friends and 
admirers. William Augustus, who is also a 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



297 



musician and a professor of vocal culture, 
received his musical education under his 
brother's instruction. He still follows the 
vocation of teacher in Ware. George Wal- 
ter died aged twenty months. Both parents 
are members of the Congregational church, of 
which the father is senior Deacon, having 
served over forty years. In politics he is a 
Republican, but votes the Prohibition ticket. 
He served acceptably on the School Commit- 
tee, and also as Selectman. 

Henry B. Anderson received a good practi- 
cal education, graduating from the Ware High 
School. Later on he studied music in Boston; 
and, though his life work has been that of an 
agriculturist, he has given much time to 
music. He succeeded his brother Edward as 
choir leader in the Congregational church at 
Ware. He was married on February 27, 
1884, to Miss Mary E. Bowdoin, who is a 
graduate of Ware High School, and who prior 
to her marriage was successfully engaged in 
teaching. She is a daughter of Jabez E. and 
.Maria E. (Marsh) Bowdoin, the former of 
whom was born in Belchertown in 1825. He 
is a son of John Bowdoin, who was born in 
Ware in 1791, son of William Bowdoin. 
William Bowdoin followed with success the 
two-fold vocations of carpenter and farmer, 
and for many years served as Justice of the 
Peace, in which capacity he came to lie known 
as "Squire Bowdoin." He married Miss 
Eunice Hixon, who became the mother of six 
children. After her death he again married, 
his second wife being a widow, Mrs. Nell 
Tyler Brigham ; and she also bore him six 
children. He died in 1S31, seventv-one years 
of age. His son, John Bowdoin, married Miss 
Hannah Lewis, who w : as born in Dedham, 
Mass., daughter of Jesse Lewis. They were 
the parents of seven children, of whom Jabez 
E. was the third in order of birth. Four are 



now living, namely: William, residing in 
Colorado; Jabez E. ; John A., living in 
Springfield, Mass.; ami Emily II., who lives 
on the old homestead with her brother. Mr. 
and Mrs. Anderson have two sons, namely: 
Arthur B. , born June 4, iSSS; and Herbert 
II., bom August [9, 1893. 

In politics Mr. Anderson is a Republican. 
The family reside on the Bowdoin homestead. 




RED MERWIX SMITH, President of 
the Griffith, Axtell & Cady Company 
of Holyoke, Mass., was born at South 
Hadley, September 19, 1862. He is a son of 
the late Hiram Smith and Harriet S. (Coney) 
Smith. His father was born at South Hadlcv, 
July 24, 1824, and his mother at Ware, Mass., 
October 2, 1826. Hiram Smith was a busi- 
ness man and Postmaster at South Hadley 
Falls for a long period, he having held the 
post-office for thirty years. He died there in 
1890, his widow 7 , who still survives at the age 
of sixty-nine years, having been the mother of 
four children, two of whom, Hattie and 
Dwight, died in infancy. The remaining two 
are Fred M. anil J. Belle, wife of Elwyn D. 
Newcomb, of South Hadley. 

Fred M. Smith received his early education 
in the public schools of South Hadley and at 
the Williston Seminary in Easthampton, and, 
after finishing his studies there in 1880, 
entered Amherst College, where he was grad- 
uated in the class of [884. Immediately 
upon completing his collegiate course he 
entered the office of the Springfield Union, 
while Joseph S. Shipley was editor of that 
newspaper; and, after being engaged in jour- 
nalism for two years, he became Assistant 
Treasurer of the Valley Paper Company of 
Holyoke, where he continued for a period of 
three years. He then became Treasurer of the 



2 9 8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Griffith, Axtell & Cady Company of Holyoke, 
which position he held until May i, 1895, 

when he retired from the active management 
of the company, but is now its President. 
This company conduct a very large business in 
fine printing, engraving, and embossing, and 
maintain a constant force of about thirty 
skilled workmen, who are kept busy filling 
their many extensive orders, which come from 
all parts of the world, the company's reputa- 
tion for this particular branch of industry hav- 
ing reached far beyond the boundaries of the 
United States. He is also a Director of the 
Holyoke Paper Company of Holyoke. 

Mr. Smith is an active Republican in poli- 
tics, and is at the present time Treasurer of 
the town of South Hadley, having now for five 
years held that office, in which he succeeded 
his father. He has served upon both the 
School Committee ami Water Board for six 
years, and has been chairman of the Republi- 
can Town Committee for the last five years, it 
being a notable fact that the town of South 
Hadley introduced the Australian system of 
conducting caucuses a year previous to its hav- 
ing been adopted by the State. He is Past 
Master of Mount Holyoke Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M., also a member of Mount Holyoke Chap- 
ter and Council, Springfield Commandery, and 
of Aleppo Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Boston. 

On April 28, 1892, he wedded Miss Evelyn 
H. Bardwell, of Shelburne, Mass., who was 
born July 19, 1861, and is the daughter of 
Orsamus O. and Helen (Packer) Bardwell, both 
of her parents being now deceased. Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith have one child living; namely, 
Winthrop Hiram, born June 30, 1893, their 
second-born, Rachel Evelyn, whose birth oc- 
curred September 17, 1894, having died Janu- 
ary 16, 1895. They reside at 54 North Main 
Street, South Hadley I-'alls, and are members 
of the Congregational church of that town. 




YLVANUS C. DAMON is promi- 
nent among the substantial and pro- 
gressive agriculturists and business 
man of the western part of Hampshire County. 
He is a well-known resident of the town of 
Chesterfield, where he is the owner of a fine 
farm, which gives ample evidence of the skill 
and good taste with which it is managed, the 
homestead presenting a beautiful picture of 
quiet country life. Mr. Damon is a native of 
Chesterfield, born February 6, 1838, his par- 
ents, Salma and Hannah (Torrey) Damon, 
having been lifelong residents of this place. 
The paternal household was large, consisting 
of fourteen children, namely: Malintha; Fi- 
delia; Lucretia; Emeline; Sylva; Rachael ; 
Oliver ; Ephraim ; Nelson ; Ann ; Julia; Eliza- 
beth ; Sylvanus C. ; and Lucretia, who died 
in infancy. The father was a farmer, and 
reared his children to the same healthful and 
independent occupation. 

Sylvanus C. Damon was educated in the dis- 
trict schools and early initiated into the mys- 
teries of agriculture; but, not finding the till- 
ing of the soil quite congenial work, he drifted 
from the old homestead to Springfield when 
nineteen years of age, and found employment 
in a barber shop. He continued thus engaged 
for twelve years, being in business alone a 
part of the time. On May 23, 1861, while 
yet a resident of Springfield, Mr. Damon 
enlisted in Company F, under Captain Lom- 
bard, Tenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 
commanded by Colonel Briggs. With his 
regiment he went to the front and took an 
active part in the engagements at Fair Oaks, 
Malvern Hill, and Antietam. He fortunately 
escaped being wounded, but spent some weeks 
in the hospital at Washington, D.C., and 
afterward received his honorable discharge at 
Downsville, Md., in November, 1S62. 

Returning from the field of carnage to 




S. C. DAMON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Springfield, Air. Damon continued at his trade 
of a barber until 1865, when lie came back to 
the place of his birth, and fur the next two 
years rented a farm, carrying it on with such 
marked success that he then decided to make 
agriculture his future occupation. He accord- 
ingly purchased his present property, which 
consists of one hundred and twenty acres of 
choice land, the larger portion of which he has 
under excellent cultivation and on which he 
has made the greater part of the improvements. 
He is also the owner of Damon's Fond, a 
famous fishing resort for the sportsmen of 
Springfield, Boston, and other cities, who 
make a point of coming here each season to 
camp out and fish. The pond is one of the 
most picturesque in this region and covers 
one hundred and seventy-five acres. Mr. 
Damon is largely identified with the manu- 
facturing interests of Chesterfield, owning and 
operating a saw-mill and a whip-butt manu- 
factory, both located near his farm. 

On November 21, 1857, Mr. Damon was 
united in the holy bonds of matrimony with 
Elizabeth J. Burt, a native of Longmeadow, 
.Mass., daughter of Anson and Ann Burt, both 
of whom spent their last years in Springfield. 
Nine children have been born of their union, 
namely: Frederick W., who married Grace 
Pearl, is a farmer, and resides not far from the 
parental homestead; Charlie, who died in in- 
fancy; Eva F. , the wife of Francis Barker, of 
Cheshire, Mass. ; Leon S. , who married Sadie 
Hamel, and lives near his parents; Herbert 
S. , living at home; Lillian J., the wife of 
Clarence Emerson, of Springfield; Nellie A. ; 
Sylvanus C, Jr.; and Ernest Lester. All 
were educated in the public schools. Mrs. 
Damon is a much esteemed member of the 
Congregational church. 

In politics Mr. Damon is an active and 
earnest Republican, uniformly casting his bal- 



lot in the interest of that party. He has 
served with faithfulness in various offices, in- 
cluding that of Road Surveyor. Socially, he 
is a comrade of Baker Post, No. 86, Grand 
Army of the Republic, of Northampton. A 
portrait of this loyal and useful citizen of the 
republic is presented on a preceding page of 
the " Review." 



EREMIAH C. BYRNS, of the firm of 
Byrns Cs; Crowley, clothiers, and the 
popular and efficient Postmaster of 
Ware, was born in Westboro, Mass.. on De- 
cember 7, 1852, son of Jeremiah and Catha- 
rine (Murray) Byrns. 

Flis father, Jeremiah Byrns, was born in 
Ireland in 1823. In 1845 he was joined in 
marriage with Miss Catharine Murray, and 
soon after they set out for America. Arriving 
here after a voyage of eight weeks, they settled 
in Boston, where Mr. Jeremiah Byrns engaged 
in business as a baker. About 1856 he came 
to Ware and established himself in the same 
business, which he successfully conducted up 
to the time of his death. He died April 2, 
1S90. His wife died seven years previously, 
in 1883. Six children were born of their 
union, of whom three sons and two daughters 
are now living. These are: William F. 
Byrns, M.D., residing in Washington, D.C. , 
a graduate of Holy Cross College and of 
the Georgetown Medical College; James A. 
Byrns, a successful baker in Ware, the su 
sor of his father in that business; Jeremiah C. 
Byrns; Mary, the widow of Phillip F. Keefe, 
residing in Ware; FHizabeth A. Byrns; and 
John Joseph, the latest-born, who died when 
two years old. 

Jeremiah C. Byrns received a good practical 
education in the public schools of Ware. At 
the age of sixteen years he engaged in the bak- 



3° 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ery with his father, remaining until he attained 
his majority. He then secured a position as 
salesman in the clothing store of F. N. Hos- 
mer, by whom he was employed for six years. 
From there he went to Philadelphia, where he 
held a similar position, and thence to Wash- 
ington, and later to Chicago in March, 1881. 
In Chicago he was employed for eighteen 
months in the Putnam Clothing House, and 
during the following two and a half years he 
worked for Wilson Brothers. On account of 
failing health he returned to the East on Janu- 
ary 10, 1 885, and in March, 1886, he was 
appointed Postmaster of Ware. He entered 
upon his duties in June of that year, and held 
the position for four years. On December 1, 
1890, in company with A. G. Crowley, he 
embarked in his present business of a dealer in 
ready-made clothing and gentlemen's furnish- 
ing goods, under the firm name of Byrns & 
Crowley; and they are now doing a thriving 
business. 

Mr. Byrns is a Democrat in his political 
views. In June, 1893, he received his second 
appointment as Postmaster, and has acted in 
that capacity since July 1 of that year. He 
and his family are members of the All Saints' 
Catholic Church of Ware. 




*ANCIS C. MONTAGUE, an enter- 
prising and progressive farmer of West- 
hampton, was born August 5, 1859, on 
land now included in the present estate of the 
family, son of Alfred D. and Sophia (Clapp) 
Montague. Alfred D. Montague was born and 
reared in Westhampton, where he also received 
a substantial education. He began his career 
as a school-teacher, at the same time carrying 
on general farming. The best years of his 
life were spent on the farm where he now 
lives. He always took an interest in whatever 



related to the moral or educational advance- 
ment of the town that came under his notice, 
and for many years was an efficient member of 
the School Committee. Besides Francis C. 
Montague he has four children, as follows: 
Edward H., who lives near the old homestead, 
married to Susan E. Parsons; Lovisa J., resid- 
ing at home; Alfred D. , Jr., now a member of 
the local School Board, married to Mrs. Emma 
F. B. Montague, and residing on the old 
Bridgman farm; and Harriet F., also living 
with her parents. 

Francis C. Montague, the eldest child of the 
family, was educated in the best schools of the 
county. Having been bred to the occupation 
of a farmer, he has since made that his prin- 
cipal business. He is, however, a man of 
versatility, and can turn his hand to various 
kinds of labor. He began his agricultural 
career on his father's farm. In 1890 he pur- 
chased the Medad King farm, situated near 
the old home estate. In the management of 
this property he has been very successful. It 
has yielded him a good income, which has en- 
abled him to make further purchases of adja- 
cent land, so that now he is the owner of three 
hundred acres of as well-improved and highly 
cultivated land as can be found in this section 
of the State. Besides tilling the soil he is 
also engaged in stock-raising, and is an agent 
for the sale of sundry articles needed in agri- 
culture. Among the latter are the fertilizer 
manufactured by the Chittenden Fertilizer 
Company, the McCormick harvesting machine, 
made in Chicago, and the newly invented Mc- 
Cormick corn binder, which has met with such 
a ready sale this year throughout the corn-rais- 
ing States of the Union. Mr. Montague is a 
far-seeing and broad-minded man, generously 
endowed with persistence and enterprise. 

On the 6th of December, 1882, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Alice R. Wood- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



aid, born in Halifax, Vt., September 6, 1862, 
a daughter of the Hon. L M. Woodard, who 
served his district for two terms as Represent- 
ative to the State legislature. They had two 
children, one of whom died in infancy. The 
other is Grace W., who was born January 1, 
1892. Mr. Montague supports the principles 
of the Republican part}', and is one of the 
most active workers in the county. He has 
much public spirit, and spares neither time 
nor reasonable expense in advancing the wel- 
fare of his native town. Since attaining his 
majority he has been a member of the Repub- 
lican Town Committee, and for several years 
has served as its Treasurer. In 1886 he was 
elected a member of the Board of Selectmen. 
He was again elected to the same office in 
1892, and has continued in it since. He has 
not forgotten the religious teachings of his 
youth, and both he and his estimable wife 
are esteemed members of the Congregational 
church. 




SMAN E. KNIGHT, a well-known 
farmer of Huntington, was born in 
Norwich, Mass., March 13, 1837, son 
df Whitman and Harriet (Park) Knight. 

Mr. Knight's great-grandfather was born in 
Norwich, Conn., and settled in the village oi 
Norwich, Mass., where he followed farming. 
He had a son Samuel, who was the grand- 
father of Osman E. Samuel Knight was born 
in Norwich, Mass., February 11, 1771. He 
married a Miss Wigat, and they had ten chil- 
dren. Of these, Whitman Knight, born May 
19, 1798, was a wagon-maker; and he followed 
that trade besides operating a saw-mill and a 
grist-mill. He also engaged in agriculture 
successfully, and became a prominent man in 
the community. He was a Whig in politics, 
and served as Town Treasurer. He was also 
Postmaster of Norwich for over twenty years. 



He was an attendant of the Congregational 
church. Whitman Knight died December 20, 
1867. His wife was born in Norwich, Mass, 
August 31, 1808, daughter of Levi Park, 
whose wife was Esther Hannum in her maiden- 
hood. Mr. Park cleared and improved the 
farm which Mr. Knight now owns and occu 
pies, and resided there until his death. Mrs. 
Whitman Knight was the mother of five chil- 
dren, as follows: Angeline, deceased, who 
married E. T. Crosby; Julia A., deceased, 
who married Solomon E. Warner; Charles 
W. , deceased, who married Eydia Leonard; 
Osman E., the subject of this sketch; and 
Samuel Henry, deceased, who married Laura 
Greenwood. The mother died August 15, 
1867. 

Osman E. Knight grew to manhood in Nor- 
wich and assisted his father in carrying on 
the mills. He learned the carpenter's trade, 
which he followed for some time; but after his 
father's death he took charge of the home 
farm, and has since been engaged in agricult- 
ure, milling, etc. He devotes considerable 
time to the dairying, and raises some excellent 
stock. Aside from farming he operates a saw- 
mill and carries on a repair shop. Mr. Knight 
is a Republican in politics, and has always 
maintained an active interest in local ques- 
tions. He has been Postmaster of Norwich 
since 1S68. 

Mr. Knight has been twice married. The 
first occasion was on June 15, 1862, when he 
was united to Ann M. Smith, born in Norwich 
in 1839, daughter of Horace and Martha 
(Perry) Smith. She was the mother of three 
children, namely: Adele, wife of J. P. 
Lyman, of Norwich; Gertrude J., wife of 
Marshall Smith, a farmer of Chesterfield, 
Mass. ; and Frank, who died young. She died 
January 10, 1871. On August 10 of the same 
year he wedded Mis. Mary Miller, of Holyoke. 



3°4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. and Mrs. Knight have two children, 
namely: Lillian, who died at the age of five 
years; and William O. , who was born May 30, 
1876, and resides at home. Loth parents are 
members of the Congregational church. 




jHARLES HENRY BOYDEN, senior 
member of the firm of Boyden & Pres- 
cott, wholesale dealers of fruit and 
produce at Northampton, is a native of Con- 
way, Mass., born February 10, 1852, a son of 
William and Maria H. (Bardwell) Boyden, 
the former of whom was born in the same 
place, on February 10, 181 7, just thirty-five 
years before. The Boyden family have been 
among the well-to-do farmers of Conway for 
some generations. 

William Boyden was reared on a farm, and 
succeeded to the occupation of his ancestors. 
He engaged in mixed husbandry until his de- 
cease, in October, 1874. In 1848 he married 
Maria H. Bardwell, who was reared in 
Whately and Chicopee Falls; and they became 
the parents of four children, all of whom mar- 
ried and have families. They are as follows : 
Cyrus James, a farmer living in Conway; 
Charles H., the subject of this sketch; Var- 
num Taylor, a conductor on the electric cars 
in Springfield; and George William, a painter 
and farmer in Conway. 

Charles H. Boyden received a substantial 
common-school education. He left school at 
the age of fourteen years to assist on the home 
farm, whereby he became familiar with farm- 
ing in the course of the following five years. 
From that time until attaining his majority 
Mr. Boyden worked by the month on a neigh- 
boring farm. He subsequently learned the 
carpenter's trade, which he followed three 
years. In 1876 he came to Northampton, 
securing work with the Northampton Emery 



Wheel Company. He was box-maker at first, 
afterward a workman on the wheels, and subse- 
quently foreman of the Crystal Emery Wheel 
Company. This position failing health 
obliged him to give up after five years. Mr. 
Boyden then bought the restaurant and confec- 
tionery business of A. Pitringer. He built up 
a very large and lucrative trade; and before 
selling to Daniels & Kellogg, seven years 
later, he required the assistance of thirteen 
persons. In 1893 Mr. Boyden embarked in a 
new branch of business, opening a store at 197 
Main Street, for the wholesale and retail sale 
of foreign and domestic fruits and produce, oc- 
cupying two floors. In connection with this 
he conducts an ice-cream and confectionery 
parlor. On March 10, 1894, Mr. Boyden took 
in, as a partner, Alfred C. Prescott ; and these 
gentlemen have since carried on an extensive 
business, their annual sales amounting to from 
seventy-five thousand to one hundred thousand 
dollars. Mr. Boyden is a member of the 
order of Knights Templars. 



(3 1 HOMAS F. CLARK, senior member 
J I of the firm of Thomas F. Clark & Sons, 
and a highly esteemed business man of 
Ware, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 
April, 1832, son of Michael and Mary (Far- 
ley) Clark. 

His father was a weaver by trade and for 
many years was successfully engaged in that 
business for himself, using hand looms and 
employing four or five men in the work. He 
manufactured coarse and fine Irish linens, 
blankets, frieze jacket cloths, and similar fab- 
rics. He died in Ireland in 1840, when about 
sixty years of age. His wife, Mary Farley, 
reared him four sons and two daughters. Of 
these, Ann became the wife of James Reilly, 
by whom she had two children. During 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3°5 



a fever epidemic in Dublin she, her husband, 
and children all died in a hospital there. The 
rest are: Margaret, who came to America 
when a young woman, and died in Globe Vil- 
lage, Mass., thirty-rive years of age; Patrick, 
who came to this country about 1850; James, 
residing in Ware, where he is employed by the 
Otis Company, is married, and has a family 
of children ; Thomas F. ; and Thaddeus, a 
weaver, who is also married and has a family. 
Their mother died in Ireland in 1878, nearly 
one hundred years of age. She was a woman 
of more than ordinary ability, and retained a 
good degree of bodily health until her last 
days. Her aunt, whose maiden name was 
Dunn, lived to the remarkable age of one hun- 
dred and twenty years. 

Thomas F. Clark began as a mere child to 
have some part in his father's weaving estab- 
lishment. He was able to weave at an early 
age. When eighteen he came with his 
elder brother Patrick to America, making the 
voyage in thirty-four days. On his arrival the 
first work he secured was on a farm in South- 
bridge, Mass. After a few weeks spent there- 
he obtained a position in the print works in 
Ware, which has since been his home. He 
began in one of the mills of the Otis Com- 
pany. Here he soon proved himself a skilled 
weaver; but, though he operated three looms, 
he received only eighteen dollars per month. 
Board, however, was proportionately cheap at 
this time, it costing but six dollais per month. 
Within two years he was able to earn one 
dollar per day; and gradually advancing he 
became in turn overseer of the different de- 
partments from beaming to weaving, and 
finallv of the finishing-room, where for some 
time he made as high as two dollars and 
seventy- five cents per day. He gave complete 
satisfaction during the thirty-five years that 
he was connected with the company. The 



company now employ two of his sons in posi- 
tions of importance. The firm of Thomas F. 
Clark & Sons was organized in 18S2, and is 
composed of Thomas F., and his sons, Janus 
and Henry M. The)' have stores in Ware, 
Warren, and, until it was destroyed by fire 
July 4, 1895, in Hudson, Mass. They do an 
extensive and profitable business. 

Mr. Clark was married when about twenty- 
one years of age to Miss Ann Dailey, whose 
birth occurred in Ireland in the town where he 
was also born, and where they played together 
as children. Their union has been blessed by 
the birth of six children, four sons and two 
daughters, all of whom are living. They are 
as follows: John Clark, superintendent of 
finishing in the cloth-room of the Otis Com- 
pany, who is married and has five sons and two 
daughters; James Clark, also a superintendent 
in one of the departments of the Otis Com- 
pany, who is married and has two sons and 
three daughters; Thomas F. Clark, Jr., in 
charge of the store at Warren, who is married 
and has one son ; Henry M. Clark, manager of 
the stores in Ware and West Warren ; Mars- 
Clark, residing at home, a saleslady in Ware; 
and Katie Clark, who has been her father's 
housekeeper since her mother's death. The 
mother died in October, 1882, when she was 
fifty years of age. The family are members ol 
All Saints' Catholic Church. Mr. Clark has 
occupied his present residence on North Street, 
nearly opposite the church, for the past twenty- 
five vears. 



(5 1 HFRON O. HAMLEN, an enterpris- 

^1 ing merchant and the Postmaster of 

Cummington, Mass., was born in that 

town on April 9, 1842, son of Theron A. and 

Clarinda (Orcutt) Hamlen, and a grandson of 

Isaac Hamlen. 

Theron A. Hamlen was also a native of 



306 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Cummington, where he acquired his education. 
After completing his studies at the academy 
there he engaged as a school-teacher. Later 
he was employed for several years as post rider 
between his native town and Northampton. 
In 184S he went to Bleecker, Fulton County, 
N.Y., where he first engaged in tanning. 
This employment, together with lumbering, 
made an extensive business, which he carried 
on until i860, when he removed to Glovers- 
ville in the same State. There he became a 
contractor and speculator, buying land, erect- 
ing houses on it, and then selling. In this 
business he continued for the remainder of his 
life. His politics were Republican, and 
while a resident of Bleecker he served in the 
office of Town Supervisor. His wife, Clarinda 
Orcutt before marriage, was a daughter of John 
and Hannah (Richards) Orcutt. Her father 
was an enterprising and successful farmer and 
stock-raiser of Cummington, Mass., besides 
being an extensive wool buyer. She bore her 
husband one son, Theron O. Hamlen. After 
her death Theron A. Hamlen married Miss 
Mary A. Orcutt. Of this second union three 
children were born, namely: Flora C, who 
lives at Gloversville, N. Y. ; Ida H., who died 
at twenty-three years of age; and John R., a 
resident of Gloversville, N.Y. 

Theron O. Hamlen received his education 
in Bleecker, N. Y. , and at Kingsboro Acad- 
emy. He began his business career as assist- 
ant in the post-office at Gloversville, where he 
remained for five years. Following this he 
was engaged as a clerk in a dry-goods store for 
three years. He then went to Cleveland, 
Ohio, where he secured a position as travelling 
salesman for the firm of C. B. Smith & Co., 
dealers in fruits and fancy groceries. After 
nine years profitably spent in this way he 
joined his father at Gloversville, N. Y. , in the 
building business, and three years later came 



to Cummington, Mass., and served as clerk for 
Mr. Lyman. Not long after, in 1883, he pur- 
chased of U. VV. Lovell a house and store on 
Main Street in Cummington, and opened 
therein a general store. Ten years later, in 
1893, the business having outgrown the origi- 
nal quarters, he erected a new store, where he 
keeps a full assortment of such goods as are 
generally demanded in a country district. At 
the same time he built a house and barns. 

On May 5, 1881, he was joined in marriage 
with Miss Hattie L. Lovell, a daughter of 
Jacob and Laura A. (Barrus) Lovell, and their 
union has been blessed by a son and daughter, 
namely: Esther L. , born November 11, 1891; 
and Harold E. , born Februarys, 1893. Mr. 
Hamlen was appointed Postmaster in 1885, 
and has held the office continuously since that 
time. He is also the Secretary and clerk of 
the Cummington Creamery Company. His 
wife is an active and influential member of the 
Congregational church. 



*.»*•.» 




IRICK N. SPEAR, the well-known 
book-seller and newsdealer of Am- 
herst, Mass., who enjoys the dis- 
tinction of having been engaged in business 
here longer than any other merchant in the 
place, is a native of Shutesbury, Franklin 
County. He was born on July 28, 1825, and 
is a son of Eliphalet and Martha (Paul) Spear. 
His grandfather, Luther Spear, was an early 
settler of Shutesbury; and he also resided in 
other places in Massachusetts. He was a 
hard-working and successful farmer, and reared 
a large family of children, nine sons and two 
daughters, all of whom grew to maturity and 
married. He lived to be nearly eighty-eight 
years of age. 

Eliphalet Spear was born in Shutesbury on 
February 28, 1789. Like his father he turned 



"*" Ca^j 






■ 



V 




MIRICK N. SPEAR. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3°9 



his attention to agriculture, which he followed 
for several years in his native town. About 
the year 1824 he moved to North Amherst, 
where he purchased land. He was a man of 
industrious habits and successful in his chosen 
vocation. He died on December 15, 1865, 
about twenty-five years after the death of his 
wife, which occurred on July 31, 1 S40. Her 
maiden name was Martha Paul; and she was 
born in Shutesbury on July 23, 1791- They 
reared six of the seven children born of their 
union, but two only are now living; namely, 
Mirick N. and David C. The latter was born 
March 23, 1830, and resides in Easthampton, 
Mass. The departed are : Lusanna T. ; Har- 
riet A., who was born June 28, 1817, and died 
July 3, 1S54; Mary Sophia, bom October 25, 
1819, died December \6, 1837; Martha E., 
who was born February 13, 1822; and Eben- 
ezer, their eldest child. Both parents were 
members of the Baptist church. Eliphalet 
Spear voted the Whig ticket until the forma- 
tion of the Republican part}-, with which he 
afterward affiliated. 

.Mirick X. Spear grew to manhood on his 
father's farm in Amherst, receiving a good 
practical education in the schools of the town. 
A farm life, however, did not accord with his 
inclinations; and in 1850 he established him- 
self in mercantile business in Amherst, which 
he has followed continuously since that time. 
He was the first newsdealer and stationer in 
the town, and from a very small beginning his 
business has steadily grown until he now car- 
ries a large stock of books, periodicals, station- 
ery, and school supplies, and also wall paper 
and fancy goods, keeping a first-class store, 
one that, it is hardly necessary to say in this 
educational centre, is well patronized. 

He was married on May 2~, 1847, to Miss 
Sarah A. M. Whitney; and after her death in 
i860 he married for his second wife Mrs. 



Delia O. Washburn. He has buried two sons, 
Edward M. and Henry P., and has one son 
living, William N. Spear, who is employed as 
a hotel clerk in Buffalo, N.Y. Mr. Spear is 
a representative man of the town and an active 
and influential citizen. He is a Democrat in 
politics. Socially, he is a member of Pacific 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Amherst, and was 
formerly identified with Wells Lodge, No. 
140, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
which has since disbanded. In religious 
views he is liberal. 

To make the acquaintance of Mr. Spear one- 
should meet him among his books. A portrait 
on a neighboring page shows his features, but 
without the familiar surroundings. 



JOSEPH RAYMOND SMART GOULD, 
a veteran of the Civil War and a resi- 
dent of Belchertown, where he was for 
many years engaged in mercantile business, 
was born in Bristol, England, Januarys, 1833. 
His father, Joseph Gould, and his grandfather, 
Isaac Gould, were natives of Bristol, England. 
His father and an uncle emigrated to America, 
and, as far as is known, were the only mem- 
bers of the family to cross the ocean, except 
Joseph R. His uncle is supposed to have set- 
tled in Boston. 

Mr. Gould's father, who was a cabinet- 
maker by trade, married when quite young, 
and soon after that event came to the United 
States. After residing for a period of eight 
months in New York he settled at Coventry, 
Conn., where he was employed as a carriage 
maker by Lyman Hyde for thirteen years. In 
1862 he enlisted as a private in Company H, 
Twentv-fifth Regiment Connecticut Volunteer 
Infantry. He served for a little more than a 
year, his term of enlistment, and participated 
in several memorable actions. Subsequent to 



3 10 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



his discharge he returned to Coventry, where 
he continued to reside until the death of his 
wife. He then came to Belchertown and 
passed the remainder of his days with his son, 
his decease occurring at the advanced age of 
eighty-four years. His wife's name before 
marriage was Mary Ann Raymond. She was 
a daughter of Olson and Mary Raymond, re- 
spectively natives of England and Scotland. 
Olson Raymond died in his native land. Mrs. 
Raymond subsequently came to the United 
States and resided at Coventry until her de- 
cease. Mrs. Gould's mother, who died at the 
age of fifty-two years, reared seven of her 
twelve children; namely, Jane, Joseph, Mary, 
Martha, Olive, Sarah, and Julia. 

Joseph Raymond Smart Gould attended the 
public schools of Coventry. At the age of 
nine years he commenced to earn his own liv- 
ing. Until he was fourteen he was employed 
much of the time in and about the glass works. 
He then began an apprenticeship of seven 
years at the house-painter's trade, which be 
subsequently followed until 1862. On August 
8 of that year he enlisted in the same company 
and regiment that his father had joined, and 
was present at the battles of Irish Bend, Port 
Hudson, and Fort Done! son, and participated 
in the eventful Red River campaign. He was 
honorably discharged from the service August 
16, 1863. Returning immediately to Coven- 
try he purchased a water-power, established a 
carriage factory, and conducted it for a period 
of five years. He then moved to Belchertown, 
where he purchased a farm. After managing 
this successfully for five years more he sold it 
and purchased property in the village, whither 
he removed for the purpose of entering mercan- 
tile life. He first established a meat market, 
later adding a stock of groceries. This vent- 
ure proved most profitable. He secured a 
very large patronage, which he steadily main- 



tained until 1893, when the building and stock 
were destroyed by fire. Immediately follow- 
ing upon the disaster he purchased the Leach 
corner, which adjoined his property. Upon 
this he erected a handsome block, seventy feet 
front, having a depth of fifty feet in one part 
and of thirty-five feet in the remainder. The 
ground floor is occupied by merchants, and 
the upper floors are used for offices and as 
the headquarters of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. 

In 1858 Mr. Gould was united in marriage 
to Miss Sarah E. Corbit, of Palmer, Mass. 
He has three children: Mary, William, and 
Henry R. Mary married G. B. Demorest, of 
Hackensack, N.J., and has one daughter, 
Sarah B. William wedded Gertrude Allen, 
and has one daughter, Florence G. Henry R. 
married Blanche Bridgman, and has three chil- 
dren, namely: Joseph R. S., Henry R., and 
Frances Lilly. 

Mr. Gould is a member of Vernon Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., a comrade of J. Griggs Post, 
No. 97, Grand Army of the Republic, and is 
connected with Richardson Grange. He has 
invariably supported the Republican party 
since its formation. He has served the town 
very acceptably as Road Commissioner, and 
was for eleven years a Selectman. He resides 
at his very pleasant home on Jabez Street, 
both himself and wife being members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 



CARLES F. A. WALSH, M.D., a 
practising physician of Hadley, was 
born in Boston, January 5, 1863, son 
of Richard W. and Helen Walsh. Richard 
W. Walsh, who is a native of Ireland, has 
always followed literature and journalism as a 
profession, and is at the present time con- 
nected with the New Vork Recorder. His 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3 1 ' 



wife, who died when Dr. Walsh was very 
young;, was the mother of six children, of 
whom John W. and the subject of this sketch 
are the only survivors. 

Charles F. A. Walsh accompanied his par- 
ents to New York at the age of nine years, and 
received his education in the schools of that 
city and Brooklyn, and at Manhattan College. 
He began life by entering the newspaper busi- 
ness, later engaging in mercantile pursuits, 
in which he continued for some time, and then 
commenced the study of medicine. After 
graduating from the Long Island Medical Col- 
lege he located in Brooklyn, where he had a 
good practice until March, 1895, at which 
time he removed to Hadley. He has since 
established himself among the physicians of 
the town, and has succeeded in securing a 
large and lucrative practice. 

In 1894 Dr. Walsh was united in marriage 
to Louisa Case, of New York City, and has 
one son, named Harold Towsley. Dr. and 
Mrs. Walsh are members of the Congrega- 
tional church. 



OHN T. BROSNAHAN, a successful 
merchant and undertaker of Ware, on 
Bank Street, opposite Ware Savings 
Bank, was born in the town August 25, 1857, 
son of Benjamin and Ann (Lynes) Brosnahan, 
and grandson of John Brosnahan, a skilful 
physician and the son of a lawyer. Grand- 
father Brosnahan had six children, of whom 
three reached adult life, namely: Ellen, who 
married a Mr. Brosnahan (not a relative), and 
went with him to Australia, both being cult- 
ured people and in good circumstances; Mary, 
who came to America, where she married Gar- 
rett Fleming, and spent the remainder of her 
life in Thompsonville, Conn. ; and Benjamin 
Brosnahan, father of the subject of this sketch. 



Benjamin Brosnahan was born in Ireland in 
1815, and he came to this country about the 
year 1850. He followed the vocation of a 
school-teacher for many years, both in Ireland 
and in the country of his adoption, but never 
accumulated much property. He was married 
after coming to America to Miss Ann Lynes, 
the ceremony having been performed in Ware 
in 1 85 1. She was also a native of Ireland, 
and came hither from County Kerry shortly 
after he did. Seven children were born of 
their union, of whom one son and three daugh- 
ters are now living, namely : Mary Brosnahan, 
residing in Westfield, Mass. ; John T. Brosna- 
han ; Ellen Brosnahan, residing in Ware; and 
Margaret, who also resides in Ware. Mary 
Brosnahan follows the occupation of a seam- 
stress, and her sisters are mill operatives. 
Their father died in 1878, and their mother 
two years later, fifty-six years of age. 

John T. Brosnahan received a limited com- 
mon-school education. At the age of nine 
years he went to work in the old brick mill as 
doffer, at a salary of about forty cents per day. 
He was employed in this way for two years, 
attending school during the winter months. 
When he was sixteen years old he commenced 
to work the year round, and secured a position 
in the Stephens Mill; but he afterward re- 
turned to the old brick mill, and for six years 
worked there as a weaver. He wove some ol 
the blue drilling shown at the Centennial Ex- 
hibition of 1876. He next became a clerk in 
the store of J. Keefe & Co., dealers in general 
merchandise, who also carried a line oi 
kets and undertakers' supplies. The store was 
managed by a brother of Mr. Keefe until his 
death. This event happened four years ago, 
when Mr. Brosnahan became manager. He 
acted in this capacity up to September, 1895, 
at which time he resigned and formed a co- 
partnership with Samuel Rohan. The busi- 



3" 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ness so prospered under Mr. Brosnahan's man- 
agement that four persons are now employed 
where two were formerly sufficient; and there 
are now but two or three larger general mer- 
chandise establishments in Ware, while the 
house does the largest undertaking business in 
that section. Mr. Brosnahan possesses natural 
talents for business. His pleasing address, 
joined to his perseverance and his habit of 
close attention, are sure to succeed anywhere. 
In his new venture he has the best wishes of 
the business men of Ware. On June 26 last 
he was granted a diploma from the Oriental 
School of Embalming at Boston, Mass., certi- 
fying that he is well qualified as a competent 
embalmer of the dead. 

On September 24, 1884, he was joined in 
marriage to Miss Sarah Barrett, born in Can- 
ada, a daughter of Morris Barrett and his 
wife, whose maiden name was Rollins. Both 
her parents are now dead. She has borne her 
husband six children, as follows: John, nine 
years old; Mary, who is seven years of age; 
Mildred, two years younger ; Rose, three years 
of age; Walter, who is two years old; and 
Agnes Catherine, an infant. Mr. Brosnahan 
casts his vote with the Democratic party. 
He has served his townsmen six years as 
Overseer of the Poor, and is a member of 
the Democratic Town Committee. He is a 
member of the Visiting Committee of the An- 
cient Order of Hibernians, with which he is 
affiliated; and he and his wife are worship- 
pers at the Catholic Church of All Saints'. 



OHN L. BOSWORTH, a representa- 
tive farmer of Southampton, was born 
March 31, 1826, in Montgomery, son 
of Nelson and Mary (Gorham) Bosworth. 

Nelson Bosworth was by birth and occupa- 
tion a farmer, which vocation he successfully 



pursued until his death in 1871. His wife 
was born in Poultney, Vt. The marriage 
ceremony was performed in Montgomery, and 
her death occurred in Southampton in 1881. 
They were the parents of eight children, 
namely: Nelson A., of West field ; John L. , 
the subject of this sketch; Amelia A., de- 
ceased; Reuben E., of Southampton; Adeline 
C. , now residing at Hoosick Falls, N. Y. ; 
Caroline D., deceased; Harriet A., of Bellows 
Falls, Vt. ; and Lycratus K., of Huntington. 

In common with his brothers and sisters 
John L. Bosworth got his education in the 
district schools of his native town, and, soon 
after entering his teens, began to be self-sup- 
porting. He was very industrious and eco- 
nomical, and before he had attained his 
majority he had paid his father six hundred 
dollars of his earnings, the greater part of 
which he had obtained by cutting wood at fifty 
cents a cord. When twenty years of age he 
applied himself to learn the carpenter's trade, 
at which he subsequently worked for six years. 
He then invested a portion of his savings in a 
team, and began the business of teaming and 
freighting in Conway, at which he continued 
for three years. Mr. Bosworth then disposed 
of that business and bought out a livery stable. 
He conducted this place for eighteen months, 
when he traded it for real estate in Conway. 
Later he sold this property to his father-in- 
law, Eliphaz Morse, and removed to Spring- 
field, where he was employed in the United 
States Armory, under the supervision of Gen- 
eral Whitney. From there he came to South- 
ampton in 1859 and purchased the farm on 
which he has since resided. This estate con- 
tains one hundred acres of land, sixty acres of 
which are under cultivation. Mr. Bosworth 
gives it his time and attention unstintedly, 
and in the manner most conducive to success. 

Mr. Bosworth was first married February 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3*3 



[6, 1854, to Sarah S. Morse, a native of Con- 
way and a daughter of the late Eliphaz and 
Sarah Morse. She departed this life August 
10, 1877, leaving no children. On February 
16, 1878, Mr. Bosworth was again united in 
marriage with Susan A. llawley, a native oi 
Amherst, Mass., and a daughter of Horace and 
Sarah llawley. Her father is deceased, and 
her mother is still a resident of Amherst, mak- 
ing her home with her children. Of this 
union two children have been born : Nelson 
E. and Edna S. He is a stanch Democrat in 
politics, and while in Conway served his fel- 
low-townsmen as Constable, Collector of 
Taxes, and in other offices. Both he and his 
wife are sincere Christian workers in connec- 
tion with the Methodist Episcopal Church of 
Easthampton, of which society they are valued 
members. Mr. Bosworth has been Trustee of 
the church for many years. 



'OHX C. THORPE, a respected and 
popular farmer and dairyman at Moun- 
tain Park, Northampton, was bom in 
his present home March 19, 1832, son of Sher- 
lock D. and Hannah (Allen) Thorpe, the for- 
mer born on this same farm in 1804, the latter 
a native of Holyoke. 

William Thorpe came from England and 
settled in the New Haven Colony in Connecti- 
cut in 1638. His descendant, Timothy 
Thorpe, great-grandfather of Mr. Thorpe, was 
a farmer; and he removed from North Haven, 
Conn., with his son Collins about one hundred 
years ago. The latter, who was bom about 
1776, was a cooper by trade, ami on the farm 
made many barrels, which were in much de- 
mand for cider, cider brandy, and vinegar — 
leading commodities in those days. He died 
in his sixty-fifth year. The wife of Grand- 
father Collins Thorpe was before marriage 



Rachel Abbott, of Wallingford, Conn. She 
lived well into the seventies, and now rests in 
the Holyoke cemetery on Northampton Street 
beside her husband. They reared four sons 
and four daughters, of whom the only survivors 
are: Lyman F., a resident of Holyoke, who is 
nearly eighty years old ; and Delia, now Mrs. 
Conklin, of New Haven, Conn. Grandfather 
Thorpe acquired a good deal of property for 
his time, and gave to each of his children sev- 
eral hundred dollars. lie and his wife were 
exemplar)- Christians, living up almost to the 
letter, as well as the spirit, of the law. 

Sherlock D. Thorpe devoted his life to agri- 
culture, spending his davs on the farm where 
he was born. The farm contained over one 
hundred acres at the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1876, in his seventy-third year. 
He was twice married. In the early autumn 
of 1830 he took for his first helpmate Hannah 
Allen, of Holyoke, daughter of Bishop Allen. 
Her grandfather, Amos Allen, was a cousin of 
Ethan Allen, the hero colonel of the Green 
Mountain Boys, and took an active part in 
the French and Indian War, being taken pris- 
oner and held by the enemy four years. He 
also served in the Revolution. Mrs. Thorpe- 
lived to the age of sixty-eight years, dying in 
1872. Mrs. Hannah (Allen) Thorpe was the 
mother of five children, four of whom grew to 
maturity. Of these, Jane R., wife of Wesson 
E. Mansfield, of Shelburne Falls, died in 187;, 
aged about fort)', leaving five children; Het- 
tie M., the youngest of the family, wife of 
Henry M. Bartlett, .if Holyoke, died in 1887, 
in her forty-ninth year, leaving three children ; 
Eugene died in the spring of 1895, at Fari- 
bault, Minn., in his sixty-second year, leav- 
ing one son, Herbert; Dana W. died in 
consumption when fifteen years of aye; John 
C. Thorpe is the only survivor of his parents' 
family. The second wife of Sherlock D. 



3 '•+ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Thorpe is living on the farm with her step- 
son. 

John C. Thorpe received a grammar school 
education, attending Wilbraham Academy. 
He has spent his life on the paternal acres 
with the exception of two years, during which 
he was in the grocery business in Holyoke. 
He has been extensively engaged in dairying 
for thirty or forty years, at one time keeping 
sixteen cows and delivering the milk to cus- 
tomers in Holyoke. Mr. Thorpe now keeps 
but ten cows, and disposes of his milk by 
wholesale at the door. Mr. Thorpe has sold 
some sixteen acres of his best arable land, but 
has left a fine estate of one hundred acres. 

On December 16, 1863, he was married to 
Mary E. , daughter of Dr. William G. Smith, 
of Chicopee. Mrs. Thorpe is a graduate of 
the Westfield Normal School, and was a 
teacher for some time previous to her marriage. 
Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe are the parents of three 
suns, namely: William S., a resident of Hol- 
yoke, book-keeper for William Whiting & Co., 
coal dealers; Arthur B. , book-keeper and pay- 
master for the Franklin Paper Company at 
Holyoke; and Frederick D., draftsman for the 
Coburn Trolley Company at Holyoke. 

Mr. Thorpe votes the Republican ticket, but 
takes no active part in politics. He and his 
wife are valued members of the First Congre- 
gational Church of Holyoke, the church of his 
maternal great-grandfather, Amos Allen. His 
dwelling is a cosey farm cottage built by his 
father sixty-six years ago. 



■pTON. JULIUS HAWLEY SEELYE, 
II the distinguished President of Am- 
-L 9 y „ herst College from 1876 to 1890 
inclusive, was born in Bethel, Conn., Sep- 
tember 14, 1824, during the last year of Presi- 
dent Madison's administration. He was a son 



of Seth and Abigail (Taylor) Seelye, who had 
nine children. Of these four are now living, 
namely: Dr. L. Clark Seelye, the President 
of Smith College; Dr. Samuel T. Seelye, Pres- 
ident of the First National Bank of Easthamp- 
ton, Mass. ; Henry E. Seelye, of Chicago; and 
Hannah H. Seelye, of Bethel, Conn. 

After some preparatory study Mr. Seelye, 
the subject of this sketch, entered Amherst 
College, from which he was graduated in 1849, 
ranking as the third scholar in his class. 
Among his classmates were: Dr. Edward 
Hitchcock; Dr. Henry Lobdell, the well- 
known missionary; Dr. William G. Ham- 
mond, the distinguished jurist; and William 
G. Rolfe, the noted Shakesperean scholar — a 
remarkable array of ability. He was a mem- 
ber of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity, and ever a 
champion of the Greek letter societies at Am- 
herst, attributing to them in large measure the 
development of the student. In college began 
his lifelong friendship with Dr. Edward 
Hitchcock, who has been associated with him 
in all his work at Amherst; and here, too, 
through Henry Lobdell and three other stu- 
dents, was kindled his abiding interest in for- 
eign missions. 

After graduation Mr. Seelye entered Auburn 
Theological Seminary, and in 1853 became 
pastor of the First Dutch Reformed Church at 
Schenectady, N. Y. , where he remained five 
years. Mr. Seelye's very pronounced bent for 
mental philosophy was increased by a year's 
study in Halle, Germany. During that time 
he translated and published Schwegler's "His- 
tory of Philosophy." 

The work of Dr. Seelye has been carefully 
described by one of his pupils in the 
Springfield Republican : — 

"His propositions in philosophy were pre- 
sented in a convincing way, not through the 
claim of authority, but through his own sincer- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3 ' S 



ity and strength. His ideals in teaching were 
the Greek philosophers, and his favorite sys- 
tem was to lead the pupil away from unsound 
propositions by a series of concessions. It has 
been a frequent comment of his pupils, in later 
life, that they always realized in the class-room 
that there was a large man in the chair. Pro- 
fessor Seelye appreciated the fact that a weak 
student might easily adopt conclusions without 
question, and sought to stimulate inquiry. He 
believed in the freest investigation, holding no 
theme too sacred for thoughtful inquiry. He 
believed, too, that reverence and faith, instead 
of being endangered by the fullest freedom, 
are only encouraged and established thereby. 

"He was keenly alive to the fact that his 
personality carried power, and reverently used 
such power to influence the students for good. 

"The small college has its opportunity in 
moulding student character by individual influ- 
ence, for which Amherst graduates give grate- 
ful tribute to Professor Seelye. 

"His thought led up to clear and lofty 
realms instead of dazzling the mind, and his 
metaphysical teachings were profound rather 
than brilliant ; but his mental equipment was 
of the highest order. 

"So remarkable was his memory that he 
could accurately recall the statistics for an 
address on finance, and his ability to quote 
from the classics aroused wonder and admira- 
tion ; yet he perferred to clinch his points in 
the class-room by the conclusions from his 
own reasoning rather than call up the histori- 
cal authority on a given line. 

"In his philosophy President Seelye held 
that there is no inherent law of progress in 
human nature, but that it is revolutionary, and 
that religious impulse has given inspiration to 
all high art and genius. During his profes- 
sorship he revised and edited Hickok's '.Men- 
tal Science' and 'Moral Science.' 



■In 1873 the American Board sent out Dr. 
Seelye to convince the well-educated Hindus 
of the error of their position. His hearers 
were so impressed by his lectures on the truths 
of Christianity that they were published in 
Bombay. His book. "The Way, the Truth, 
and the Life," was the outcome of these lect- 
ures. Soon after his return political honors 
were thrust upon him. In 1874, when the . 
best men in his Congressional district became 
tired of machine rule, he was elected member 
of Congress. Not until the result of the elec- 
tion had been known was he officially informed 
of his nomination. His election expenses 
amounted to tw-o cents, the price of the stamp 
on his letter of acceptance. With the advan- 
tage of an election as an independent candi- 
date, no party ties restrained him, and he was 
able to begin a glorious career in politics. He 
was a careful student of the Indian problem, 
and as an advocate of needed reforms his abil- 
ity won other earnest men to act with him in 
securing ends of lasting benefit to the country. 
Although usually acting with the Republican 
party, he strenuously opposed the seating of 
Mr. Hayes as President. Aside from speeches 
in Congress, which received marked attention, 
he wrote political pamphlets and newspaper 
articles on "The Electoral Commission," 
"Counting the Electoral Vote," "The Need 
of a Better Political Education," and other 
kindred topics of the day. In 1874 he was 
appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to 
serve on a commission to revise the laws of 
taxation. Later the Prohibition party nom- 
inated him for Governor, but President 
Stearns's death during Mr. Seelye's second 
Congressional year cut short his promising 
political career. 

Dr. Seelye was the first Amherst graduate- 
elevated to the presidency of that institution 
and the first man from the literary side of the 



3 '6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



faculty to hold the office. There was much 
opposition to his election, on the ground that 
he would have neither time nor ability to raise 
the funds needed, that he would slight the 
scientific departments, and that he could 
neither sympathize with the students nor con- 
trol them. But, nevertheless, because Presi- 
dent Seelye was not the man to undertake 
what he could not perform, the results were 
eminently satisfactory. 

In this position, in the important duty of 
selecting teachers he was peculiarly fortunate. 
Professor Tyler says: "He always insisted 
that the strength of a college lies, not in 
magnificent buildings, large endowments, nor 
a large number of students, but in the high 
character and faithful work of its faculty." 
In pursuance of this policy he brought to Am- 
herst Professor Elihu Root, Anson D. Morse, 
Henry B. Richardson, John M. Tyler, Charles 
E. Gorman, David R. Todd, John F. Genung, 
Henry A. Frink, and William L. Cowles, 
most of whom were his pupils. Their work 
attests his insight and training. 

Important changes in methods of govern- 
ment and in the curriculum were introduced by 
President Seelye. Under his administration 
the Amherst system of student self-government 
was inaugurated. All the students were ad- 
mitted to college on a contract to conduct 
themselves as gentlemen. At first the faculty 
were the judges as to when a student had vio- 
lated his contract; but later a college senate 
was organized, and in its hands were placed 
many of the powers of government. Professor 
Tyler says of the movement: "The day of 
common interests, mutual confidence, and 
hearty co-operation, the day of representation 
of the alumni in the Board of Trustees, and 
of undergraduates in the faculty, the day of 
larger liberty and more self-government, the 
div of elective studies, manly development, and 



practical preparation for the duties of citizen- 
ship under free institutions, has come in Am- 
herst and is coming to stay in all our colleges; 
and we may thank President Seelye for hasten- 
ing its dawn. " 

Dr. Seelye acted both as president and pas- 
tor of the college church, and continued his 
instruction in philosophy. He considered 
that the greatest service he ever rendered the 
college was the introduction of Spiritual Phi- 
losophy in its curriculum. On account of ill 
health in 1886 he gave up his favorite work, 
the pastorate of the college church. 

The most striking feature of President 
Seelye' s administration was the hold he had 
on his pupils as individuals. He held spe- 
cial classes in the Catechism, and conducted a 
question box for his Senior class, in order 
to bring to them personally subjects of great- 
est moment. Dr. Parkhurst, the great re- 
former, is a conspicuous example of President 
Seelye's high moral training. Amherst Col- 
lege prospered in all its interests under its 
honored president. 

Walker Hall was rebuilt after the disas- 
trous fire, and additional endowments amount- 
ing to over eight hundred thousand dollars 
were given. 

Other work claimed his time and attention. 
He took an active interest in the Clark Insti- 
tute for Deaf Mutes at Northampton, being 
one of its Trustees; and he was interested in 
the Mount Holyoke College. He served sev- 
eral years as President of the American Mis- 
sionary Association, and was an active worker 
in the American Board. He was also one of 
the Visiting Committee at Andover Theologi- 
cal Seminary, and took a prominent part in the 
discussions that came before the board during 
the celebrated Andover controversy. Union 
College gave him the degree of D. D. in 1862 
and Columbia College that of LL. D. in 1875. 




CHARLES H. DICKINSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3 '9 



President Seelye's intellectual and spiritual 
endowments place him head and shoulders 
above the crowd. Nature had given him rich 
gifts, but discipline had much to do with his 
great character. 

On October 26, 1854, he married Elizabeth 
Tillman, daughter of the Rev. William James, 
of Albany. She died March 5, [881, leaving 
four children : Professor William J. Seelye, oi 
Wooster, Ohio, and the Misses Elizabeth, 
Anna H., and Mabel Seelye. Elizabeth sub- 
sequently married James W. Bixler, of New 
London, Conn., and died in 1894. The two 
other daughters are at home. 

In 1885 he had an attack of erysipelas, 
which so weakened his health that two trips 
abroad were taken in hope of recovery. A 
hereditary disposition to paralysis then began 
to show itself, and in 1S90 he was compelled 
to resign. President Seelye then resumed his 
uncompleted literary work, in which he took 
great interest. His death occurred May 12, 
1S95. The thirteenth chapter of First Corin- 
thians, which Mr. Seelye called "the descrip- 
tion of a Christian gentleman," was exempli- 
fied in his own godly walk and conversation. 




i 



HARLKS H. DICKINSON, a re- 
tired merchant of Northampton, where 
--• for many years he has been an es- 
teemed citizen, is the son of Moses P. and 
Ruth P. (Osborne) Dickinson and grandson of 
Medad Dickinson, who for years kept a hotel 
011 East Street, Amherst. Moses P. Dickin- 
son was born in Amherst, and having grown to 
manhood took up the same kind of business in 
which his father was engaged, for some time 
managing a hotel in Cambridgeport, Mass. 
Thinking to better his prospects, he went 
West; and there he died in 1827, at the age 
of thirty. His wife, Ruth P. Osborne, was a 



native of Windsor, Conn., daughter of facob 
and Sarah (Bissell) Osborne. At her hus- 
band's death she found herself obliged to pro- 
vide sustenance for herself and only son, the 
subject of this sketch. 

■■Tlie widowed Indian, when her lord expires, 
Mounts the dread pile anil braves the funeral fires." 

The American woman takes her husband's 
place in the battle of lite and conquers fate. 
Mis. Dickinson engaged in the milliner}' busi- 
ness, starting in a small way, and, being an 
energetic business woman, soon ranked as one 
of the leading milliners in Westfield and 
Northampton. She lived to he ninety years 
old, a widow over sixty years, and was bright 
and active to the last. 

Charles H. Dickinson attended school until 
he was fifteen, when he went to work in a drug 
store. For six years he was employed as a 
clerk in Amherst and Northampton, and when 
about twenty-two years of age he went into 
business with his mother, opening a millinery 
and fancy goods store in Northampton, which 
he conducted forty-four years. The enterprise 
prospered to such an extent that at the end of 
that time Mr. Dickinson was enabled to retire, 
and in 1893 he sold the business to Mrs. S. I. 
Mills. Mr. Dickinson owns three stores and 
two fine estates, his home residence and the 
one adjoining. 

In 1847 Mr. Charles H. Dickinson was 
united in marriage to Martha C. Kellogg, who 
died in 1893, leaving one son, Charles 11., 
Jr., who resides on the adjoining estate, and 
has a wife and two children, a son and a 
daughter. Mr. Dickinson was again married 
in January, 1895, his second wife being Eliza- 
beth S. Willcutt, of Northampton, daughter of 
Daniel Willcutt. In politics Mr. Dickinson 
is a Democrat, hut he has never sought or held 
office. Socially, he is a Master Mason, and 



3 20 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in religion he follows the teachings of the Con- 
gregational church. Though modest and unas- 
suming, he holds a prominent position in the 
town, and is one of the most esteemed citizens. 




VORIN A. SHAW, an enterprising 
farmer of Amherst, was born in Bel- 
chertown, February 17, 1848, son 
of William and Elvira (Thayer) Shaw. Mr. 
Shaw's father was a native of Belchertown, 
where lie had a farm that he successfully cul- 
tivated. He was a stone mason by trade, 
which calling he also followed with much 
profit to himself. He was a good workman 
and at different times was employed in the 
construction of railroads and the erection of 
public buildings. In politics he was a Re- 
publican. He served in the Civil War as a 
private in Company H, Forty-sixth Regiment, 
Massachusetts Volunteers. William Shaw 
died in Belchertown over sixty years old. His 
wife, who was born in Belchertown, bore him 
five children, as follows: Mary and Horatio 
W. , both deceased; Lyman A., a carpenter, 
who resides in Georgia; Lorin A., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; and Sarah J., who married 
Dwight Gibbs, and resides in Georgia. The 
mother, who still survives, resides with her 
son in Amherst. 

Lorin A. Shaw grew to manhood in Belcher- 
town, and received his education in the public 
schools. At the age of twenty-one he went to 
Michigan, where he acquired a knowledge of 
the lumber business, and became familiar with 
the duties of a lumber inspector. He returned 
East, and was for a time employed in a lumber 
yard in Northampton. He then went again to 
Michigan, and was engaged in lumbering for 
some years. He finally returned to Massachu- 
setts, and followed different occupations until 
1888, when he purchased his present farm of 



one hundred acres in Amherst. Here he has 
since resided, conducting general farming. 
He also keeps a dairy with sixteen finely bred 
Jersey cows, besides other stock. His under- 
takings are nearly always successful. He is a 
Republican in politics and a member of the 
Grange. 

On October 22, 1883, Mr. Shaw was united 
in marriage to Anna L. Dickinson, who was 
born upon the farm where she resides, and 
is a daughter of Bela and Pamelia Dickinson, 
who were both natives of Amherst. Mr. and 
Mrs. Shaw have two children, namely: Ethel 
D., born July 13, 1885; and Ezra I., born 
December 28, 1890. Both parents are mem- 
bers of the Congregational church. 



SEVI W. KINGMAN, deceased, was 
born in Worthington, May 16, 1825, 
__^ son of Isaiah and Lucy (Daniels) 
Kingman. Isaiah Kingman was a native of 
Connecticut, and came from that State to 
Worthington, where he engaged in agricult- 
ure, at the same time working at his trade, 
which was that of a tailor. His wife, who 
was born in Connecticut, became the mother 
of eleven children, as follows: Alphonzo, who 
married Sally Parsons, both now deceased; 
Franklin, deceased, who married Theodosia 
Smith; Sophronia, who died young; Mary, 
deceased, who married George Davis, of New 
York; Sophronia (second), who married the 
Hon. Elisha Brewster, formerly a prominent 
resident of Worthington, both deceased; 
Emily, who also died young; Lucy, deceased, 
who married Jonathan Davis; Charles, who 
died in his youth; Samuel A., an ex-Chief 
Justice in the State of Kansas; Levi W., the 
subject of this sketch; and Emily, who died 
in infancy. 

Levi W. Kingman received his education at 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the district schools and at the Worthington 
Academy, and was reared to agriculture. He- 
taught school for some time, and assisted his 
father in carrying on the farm. He was a 
successful agriculturist and a highly esteemed 
citizen. He is well remembered as a kind- 
hearted and sympathetic neighbor. Levi W. 
Kingman died November 2, 1852, sincerely 
regretted by all who knew him. 

On June 9, 1850, Mr. Kingman was united 
in marriage to Miranda B. Bartlett, of Worth- 
ington. She was born October 26, 1 83 1 , 
daughter of Russell and Nancy (Jones) Bart- 
lett. The father was born August 1, 1806, 
and became a prominent man in the commu- 
nity. He was a Republican in politics, was 
Postmaster in West Worthington for thirty- 
four years, and served as a Selectman for over 
eight years. He and his family were mem- 
bers of the Congregational church, and de- 
voted much of their spare time to church 
work. Russell Bartlett died in April, 1874. 
Mr. and Mrs. Kingman had but one child, 
Mary Jane, who was born March 22, 185 1, 
and died October 7, 1852. 




"ON. JOHN B. O'DONNELL, of 
Northampton, Mass., attorney and 
counsellor - at - law, was born in 
Inch, County Kerry, Ireland, September 8, 
1846. His parents, James and Bridget (Her- 
lihy) O'Donnell, came to America in 1849, 
bringing with them three young children. 
Mr. O'Donnell was a tenant farmer in Ire- 
land, and, like many of his countrymen, was 
driven from home at that time by the potato 
failure and ensuing famine. He had little 
wherewith to establish a home for his family 
in the new country, but he had a strong con- 
stitution and a willing hand, which count for 
much in the land where "there is bread and 



work for all ": and he soon found employment 
at railroad construction in New Hampshire. 
Later he worked as a laborer on the buildings 
of the Colt Pistol Works in Hartford, Conn., 
and in 1855 removed to Northampton. In 
1859 ne established a home in Florence, 
where he and his faithful wife died in 1882, 
he being then sixty-four years of age and she 
fifty-seven. Seven children were born to 
them, one of whom, Thomas, died at the 
tender age of four years. The youngest, born 
in this country, Michael, died at Florence in 
1S87. 

John B. O'Donnell attended the common 
schools in Northampton until eleven years of 
age and at Hadley the next year. He then 
started out as a wage-earner, entering first the 
cotton-mill of the Greenville Manufacturing 
Company at Florence, where he was employed 
four years, and next working a year in the 
gun-works at Bay State village. He was 
subsequently in the employ of the Florence 
Sewing Machine Company until 1S72 as a 
contractor, and the next three years he was in 
mercantile business in Florence. During 
this period — from the time that he was 
twelve years of age until he was twenty-one — 
young O'Donnell studiously improved every 
spare moment, regularly attending evening 
school, often burning the midnight oil in the 
pursuit of knowledge. He also took private 
lessons of Miss James and the late Daniel D. 
Gorham, principal of the Northampton High 
School. In 1875 he began to read law with 
his brother, T. B. O'Donnell, in Holyoke, 
continuing with him one year; and later he 
attended the Boston University Law School 
for two years. He was admitted to the bar in 
1878, and soon opened an office in Northamp- 
ton, where he has been in active practice ever 
since, winning his way steadily to the front 
rank in the legal profession, so that now he is 



322 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



one of the foremost lawyers in Hampshire 
County. In politics Mr. O'Donnell is a 
Democrat, and has represented his party in 
various official positions. He was a member 
of the first Common Council of Northampton, 
and was for two years chairman of the Board 
of Assessors, resigning in 1889 in order to go 
to Europe, where he spent three months tour- 
ing through England, Ireland, France, Ger- 
many, Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland. 
In December, 1 891, he was elected Mayor of 
the city, and served two years, 1892-93. 

On November 28, 1869, Mr. O'Donnell was 
united in marriage with Bridget T. Coughlin, 
daughter of Daniel and Honora Coughlin, 
natives of Ireland, where Mrs. O'Donnell also 
was born. She died December 14, 18S7, 
leaving five children, namely: James C. ; 
George P., who graduated from the Boston 
Law School in 1895; John B., a youth of 
eighteen, in the Northampton High School; 
Charles H. and Edward, aged respectively 
twelve and nine. The eldest son, James C, 
was a student in the Northampton High 
School, a graduate from Holy Cross College 
in the class of 1892, and is now, 1895, a stu- 
dent in the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons in New York City. 

The Hon. John B. O'Donnell is a Knight 
of Honor and a member of the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen. He resided in Florence 
until October, 1894, when he removed to 
Round Hill, where in 1895 he erected one of 
the handsomest residences in this part of the 
county. He also owns considerable other real 
estate, including dwelling-houses and business 
blocks. Successful as a lawyer, a politician, 
and a financier, Mr. O'Donnell is thoroughly 
respected as an honest and honorable citizen, 
one who has gained the heights of success 
through his own efforts alone, spurred by a 
worthy ambition. 




RLIN V. STEVENS, of Cummington, 
prosperously engaged in the manufact- 
ure of brush handles, is a native of 
Worthington, Mass., born June 15, 1854, son 
of Nathan S. and Sybil (Cowing) Stevens. 

Nathan S. Stevens was also born in Worth- 
ington, and spent his early years in that town. 
When a young man, he was employed as por- 
ter at the Warner House in Northampton. 
He had been there but a short time when he 
was given an opportunity to learn the trade of 
a machinist. He availed of it, and served an 
apprenticeship with his brother Aaron. In 
1834 the two went to Worthington, and built 
a saw-mill and factory, where they established 
a good wood-working business, manufacturing 
sieve rims and other kinds of bent wood-work 
until i860. He then came to Cummington, 
purchased the old Hayden cotton-mills, fitted 
them up with new machinery, and began the 
manufacture of pen-holders and cedar brush 
handles. In company with a Mr. Rhodes, he 
also engaged in the manufacture of the Dia- 
mond Grit Scythe Stones, the material for 
which was quarried in the rough, and then 
converted into merchantable shape. This 
industry was carried on successfully for five 
years. In 1874 he took his two sons, Arthur 
S. and Arlin V., as partners, and extended 
the scope of the wood-working business, add- 
ing new machinery, much of which was in- 
vented by himself. At that time their factory 
was the leading one of its kind in this coun- 
try. On February 23, 18S3, the mill was 
destroyed by fire. A new one was ready for 
occupancy by the 15th of April following; and 
business was soon again in progress, although 
for a time they were obliged to set up a saw 
to cut the timber out of doors. From 1884 to 
1887 they also engaged in the manufacture of 
the New York lead pencil, turning out on an 
average about one hundred gross per day. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Stevens died in June, 1889. His wife 
bore him two sons, namely: Arthur S., who 
died in 1884: and Arlin V., the subject of 
this sketch. 

Arlin Y. Stevens acquired a good practical 
education in the district school and at Wilbra- 
ham Academy. He then worked for three 
years as clerk in the hardware store of W. E. 
Thayer, of Williamsburg. He next went to 
Chicago, 111., where he was employed as a 
salesman for the furnishing-goods department 
1 if Field & Lyter. He did not remain there- 
long; and in 1874 he came to Cummington, 
Mass., and went into business with his father. 
His brother, Arthur, was also interested in 
the business: and at the latter's death he 
bought his interest. After his father's de- 
cease he came into full control, and is still 
conducting the business, which has been one 
of steady growth. Like his father, he is in- 
ventive; and some of the most valuable ma- 
chines employed in the work are creations of 
his brain. There are ten machines used in 
the manufacture of handles; and they turn out 
about two hundred and fifty gross per day, the 
larger part being varnish and paint brush 
handles of all grades. He employs forty 
people in the different departments, and uses 
annually about three hundred thousand feet of 
native lumber and about two hundred thousand 
feet of Florida cedar. He also owns a farm, 
and now has three fine horses that were raised 
there. 

His marriage to Miss H. Imogene Pettin- 
gill was performed on February 6, 187S. She 
is a daughter of Aldin F. and Zeruiah (Shaw) 
Pettingill. Six children have come of the 
union, namely: Winifred S., born November 
13, 1878, who is attending the high school at 
Medford, Mass.; Anne V.; Margery S. ; C. 
Ashley; Leon A.; and Ruth W. 

Mr. Stevens is a supporter of Republican 



principles, and he has served as Treasurer of 
his town for several years. He was elected 
Representative of Second Hampshire County 
District to the General Court, November 5, 
1895, receiving about eighty-five per cent, of 
the entire votes cast in the district. He and 
his family reside at their fine residence on 
Main Street, which was formerly known as the 
Vining Home. 



wj) /alter 

\SV cessful 



IR A. CLARK, M.D., a suc- 
1 physician of Prescott, was 
born in Petersham, Mass.. May S. 
1S57, son of Almond and Mary (Pattee) 
Clark. Dr. Clark's great-grandparents were 
Edward and Anna (Jenerson) Clark, the for- 
mer of whom was born June 25, 173S, and the 
latter July 4, 1739. His grandfather, Samuel 
Clark, was born March 30, 1765; and his 
grandmother, whose maiden name was Mehit- 
able Ingersoll, was born March 20, 1769. 

Almond Clark, Dr. Clark's father, was born 
in Hardwick, Mass., February 10, 1809. He 
settled in Petersham, where he passed the 
greater part of his life. He engaged in farm- 
ing, an occupation which he followed for a 
time; and later he entered into trade. He 
finally returned to agriculture, and cultivated 
a farm with success for the remainder of his 
life. He was an industrious man, possessed 
a high order of intelligence, and was espe- 
cially well informed upon legal subjects. In 
politics he was a stanch Republican, and he 
entertained broad and liberal views upon re- 
ligious matters. Mr. Clark, Sr., died at the 
old homestead in Petersham in July, [869. 
His wife became the mother of six children, 
as follows: John W., who enlisted in the 
Twenty-first Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers, and was killed in the Civil War at the 
age of twenty-one; Asa Wilbur, who died at 



3-4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the age of thirty; Philena, who is the wife of 
William Tolman, and resides in Barre, 
Mass. ; Harriet, wife of Horace Hager, of 
Athol, Mass.; Lura, who married Charles H. 
Burroughs, and resides in Chicago, 111.; and 
Walter A., the subject of this sketch, who is 
the youngest. The mother, who still sur- 
vives, is residing with her daughter in Barre. 

Walter A. Clark commenced his education 
in the district schools of his native town, and 
completed his studies at the grammar schools 
in Barre. He went to Chicago in 1874, arriv- 
ing in that city on October 14 of that year, 
and entered the shops of the F. C. Wells 
Engine Works for the purpose of learning the 
trade of a machinist and engineer. He served 
an apprenticeship of three years, during which 
time he acted as an engineer in the machinery 
department of the Chicago International Exhi- 
bition in 1875. On August 16, 1877, having 
acquired his trade, he was united in marriage 
to Verena Gloor, a native of Switzerland, and 
returned with her to Massachusetts, making 
his home in Athol until 1880. He again 
went to Chicago; and on December 31, 1S80, 
he secured a position in Dell's Pharmacy as- 
prescription clerk. On March 12, 1882, he 
started East on a visit, remaining until the 
autumn of that year. Upon his return to the 
Western metropolis he entered the Rush Med- 
ical College (September 4, 1882), pursued a 
thorough course of medical study, and grad- 
uated February 17, 1885. On April 1 of that 
year he located on Madison Street, Chicago, 
where he conducted a good practice for two 
years, at the expiration of which time he re- 
turned to his native State. Settling in Pres- 
cott, February 27, 1888, he has since 
practised his profession in this and adjoining 
towns. 

As a medical practitioner he is energetic 
and skilful, and is a pleasant gentleman to 



meet. He possesses a disposition and charac- 
ter well calculated to inspire confidence. As 
an illustration of the esteem he has won it 
may be mentioned that, while yet a student, 
he was summoned East for the purpose of 
examining a patient and rendering an opinion 
in regard to the case. Since coming to Pres- 
cott he ha purchased the property formerly 
known as the Atkinson Tavern, where he now 
resides. It is an old landmark in the town, 
and was built by John Atkinson in 1820. It 
was for many years used as a public house, 
and is still in a good state of preservation, its 
huge chimneys and broad, open fireplaces 
giving the interior a cheerful and comfort- 
able appearance. Dr. Clark is liberal in 
his religious and political views and a lover 
of the fine arts. 



K[RY M. SMITH, a carpenter and 
milder, now practically retired from 
active participation in business, 
was born in the town of Whately, Franklin 
County, July 14, 183 1, son of Henry and 
Almira (Holmes) Smith. Henry Smith, also 
a native of Whately, born in 1800, one of the 
seven children of Rufus and Anna (Munson) 
Smith, was a successful farmer in Whately. 
In 1820 he was married to Almira Holmes, a 
native of Williamsburg; and the union was 
blessed by the advent of five sons and one 
daughter, all of whom grew to maturity and 
married. Besides the subject of this sketch 
the only survivor is L. J. Smith, of Saratoga, 
N.Y. The mother died in 1841, when forty- 
three years old. The father was again mar- 
ried, but had no children by his second union, 
and died in 1846. He was a man of great 
personal merit, was highly respected for his 
integrity, and was a consistent member of the 
Universal ist church. 




JOSEPH CUDWORTH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



2-7 



Henry M. Smith left home at the age of 
sixteen years, and came to Northampton, 
where he learned his trade of H. I. Clapp. 
He worked for Mr. Clapp and others until 
1 86 1. Afterward he was employed by the 
government, boring and straightening guns in 
the Springfield Armory one year, and for two 
years in Norwich, Conn. In 1865 he became 
a partner in the firm of Currier Brothers & 
Smith, who for seven years carried on a large- 
business in contracting and building. The 
firm was then changed to Smith & Stevens, 
under which name it carried on business for 
six years, when Mr. Smith became the sole 
proprietor. He subsequently formed with 
Mr. Livermore a copartnership that lasted 
nine years, during which the firm became the 
leading contractors and builders in this sec- 
tion of Hampshire County. Many of the 
finest residences and business blocks of the 
city were built by them. The Northampton 
Savings Bank building is their work, and so 
are the two dormitories, the observatory, the 
scientific building, and the art gallery of 
Smith College. In 1890 Mr. Livermore sold 
out his share of the business, and one year 
later Mr. Smith disposed of the whole to 
Avon C. Matthews. 

On Christmas Day in the year 1854 Mr. 
Smith was united in marriage with Miss Edna 
Hill, a native of Fair Haven, Conn., born in 
1833. She was an infant when her father, 
Joseph Hill, a sea captain, died of consump- 
tion, at the early age of thirty -five years. Six 
years later Mrs. Hill, whose maiden name was 
Emily Thompson, passed away, also the prey 
of that fatal disease. Mrs. Smith, the only 
child of their union, has not inherited the 
malady, as her fresh and youthful countenance 
amply testifies. Carrie E., the only child 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, married George 
Buffington, of Springfield, a postal clerk in 



the railway mail service between Springfield 
and Newport; and they have one child, Lucy, 
now thirteen years old. Mr. Smith's house 
at 20 Monroe Street, which he built a quarter 
of a century since, is a very comfortable and 
attractive residence. In social circles, as in 
business life, he is held in high esteem. He 
is a loyal member of the Republican party, 
and he belongs to the Legion of Honor. 



JOSEPH CUDWORTH, a prosperous 
farmer of Worthington, was born in 
Chesterfield, Mass., July 14, 1823, 
son of Charles and Susanna (Kith) Cudworth. 
Mr. Cudworth's grandfather, John Cudworth, 
was a lineal descendant of General James Cud- 
worth, who was made a freeman in Scituate in 
1634, and became one of the leading men 
in Plymouth Colony, commanding its whole 
military force in the early part of King 
Philip's War, and being Deputy Governor in 
1 68 1. He went to England as Colonial 
agent in 1682, and died in London in the 
autumn of that year. His children were: 
Captain James, Israel, Jonathan, Mary, and 
Hannah. John Cudworth, born in 1677, son 
of the second James, settled in Scituate, and 
was the father of a second John, born in 1706. 
The latter had a son, John Cudworth, the 
third of the name in direct line, who married 
Elizabeth Clap in 1772, and had five sons: 
John, Job, Charles, Abiel, and Arvin. 

Charles Cudworth, Mr. Cudworth's father, 
was born in Scituate, Mass., March 7, 1781, 
and in 1 800 went to Chesterfield, where he 
labored diligently for some time. In com- 
pany with a brother, he purchased a farm, and 
followed agriculture with success. Aside 
from farming he engaged in the meat busi- 
ness, and became a well-known man through- 
out that region. He was an active member of 



3^8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the Baptist church and a stanch Democrat in 
politics. He died April 25, 1846. 

His first wife, Susanna Briggs Cud worth, a 
native of Scituate, died in Chesterfield, leav- 
ing eight children, all of whom are now dead. 
His second wife, who was a daughter of Ed- 
ward Kith, was born in Chesterfield in 1786. 
By this union he had three children, as fol- 
lows: Joseph, the subject of this sketch; 
Mary, who married Asa Todd, a farmer of 
Chesterfield, and died in 1846; and Julia 
Ellen, who became Mr. Todd's second wife, 
and reared seven children. This family may 
here be briefly named : Isabella, who married 
Walter Trow, of Cummington, Mass.; Lyman, 
who married Mary Pease, and resides in 
Worthington; Mary, who died in infancy; 
Esther, who married James Dunham, of Ches- 
terfield, and is now dead ; Monroe, who mar- 
ried Lettie Middlebrook, and resides in West 
Chesterfield; Flora, who married William 
Trow, and resides in Westfield; and Augus- 
tus, who died young. Mrs. Susanna Kith 
Cudworth died in June, 1871. 

Joseph Cudworth was reared to agriculture, 
and resided with his parents until reaching 
the age of twenty-one, when he engaged in 
farming in Chesterfield and Savoy, an occupa- 
tion which he followed for three years. He 
then returned to the parental roof, and for a 
time managed the home farm, after which he 
purchased a farm in Worthington, and con- 
ducted it with prosperous results until his 
retirement from active labor, which occurred 
in 1883. He is a Democrat in politics. 

On February 3, 1847, Mr. Cudworth was 
married to Aurelia F. Todd, who was born in 
Chesterfield, June 6, 1825, daughter of Lyman 
and Sarah (Kinny) Todd. Mrs. Cudworth's 
father was a farmer and a teamster between 
Boston and Albany before the introduction of 
railroads. Mr. and Mrs. Cudworth have had 



three children, who are now grown to matu- 
rity, and are heads of families. Mary, the 
eldest, who was born April 16, 1848, married 
A. M. Locke, of the Smith Carr Baking Com- 
pany of Northampton, and has seven children, 
as follows: Etta M. ; Josephine; Minnie A., 
who is now dead; Walter Joseph; Owen A.; 
Alice, also deceased ; and Ellen. Alice Au- 
gusta, second child of Mr. and Mrs. Cud- 
worth, was born March 20, 1850, and married 
Isaac H. Steel, superintendent of the Cum- 
mington Creamery, and has two children: 
George W. and Frank D. Charles Monroe 
Cudworth, their youngest child, who was born 
July 8, i860, married Mary Isadora Tower, 
daughter of Alden and Mary Tower, and has 
had three children: Joseph Harold, deceased; 
Mary Eva; and Alice Rosamond. 




ILLIAM AUSTIN DICKINSON, 
Treasurer of Amherst College since 
1873, was born in Amherst, April 
11, 1829. His parents were the Hon. Edward 
and Emily (Norcross) Dickinson, his mother 
being the daughter of Joel Norcross, of Mon- 
son, Mass. 

The earliest known ancestor of this family 
was Nathan Dickinson, who came to Amherst 
from Hatfield in 1742. His son, Nathan 
Dickinson, Jr., was the great-grandfather (if 
William Austin Dickinson. Samuel Fowler 
Dickinson, son of Nathan Dickinson and 
grandfather of William Austin, was in his 
time the leading lawyer in Western Massachu- 
setts. After he was graduated from Dart- 
mouth College, he studied law in the office of 
Judge Simeon Strong. Subsequently, while 
engaged in the practice of his profession, he 
filled many positions of trust and responsibil- 
ity. For fifteen years he was Town Clerk, 
and for twelve years he represented the town 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



329 



in the legislature. He was one of a half-dozen 
men to whose exertions was due the founding 
of Amherst Academy. Later he took a prom- 
inent part in establishing Amherst College. 

Edward Dickinson, born in Amherst in 
1803, graduated from Yale College in 1823. 
He subsequently studied law, was admitted to 
the bar, began practice in his native town, 
and became one of the leading lawyers in 
Hampshire County. In 1835 he was chosen 
Treasurer of Amherst College, which office he 
held for thirty-eight consecutive years. He 
was also prominent in public affairs, serving 
three years as member of the Massachusetts 
House of Representatives, two years as State 
Senator, two years in the Governor's Council; 
and in 1853 and 1855 he represented his dis- 
trict in Congress. He largely helped in 
securing the building of the New London 
Northern Railway and later the Massachu- 
setts Central Road. The late Emily Dickin- 
son, the literary recluse, whose remarkable 
writings were not known until after her death, 
was one of Mr. Edward Dickinson's daugh- 
ters. Miss Lavinia Dickinson survives him, 
and occupies the Edward Dickinson home- 
stead. 

William Austin Dickinson was fitted for 
college in his native town and at Williston 
Seminary, Easthampton. In 1850 he was 
graduated from Amherst College, and after- 
ward studied law in his father's office and at 
Harvard Law School. He took his degree at 
Cambridge in 1854, being admitted to the bar 
in Boston the same year. He then joined in 
practice with his father at Amherst, a partner- 
ship that lasted nearly twenty years, when it 
was dissolved by his father's death in 1873. 
Mr. Dickinson rather avoided the trial of 
cases. Hence he never attained prominence 
before the courts; but he was a singularly 
clear-headed and conscientious counsellor, 



whose advice and assistance were much sought 
in the community. He often rendered his 
services gratuitously. He was in partnership 
with James I. Cooper in the Palmer Block in 
the winter of 1888, when their office was 
burned, together with many valuable papers of 
historical value to the town and college. He 
became treasurer of the college in 1873; an( l 
thereafter he devoted himself with enthusiasm 
to the various concerns of the institution, not 
confining himself to the care of its funds, but 
looking carefully after all its material inter- 
ests. By his fine tact and excellent judgment 
he was able to do much for the improvement 
of the college. He exerted a purely benefi- 
cent influence with the faculty and the trus- 
tees in the administration of its internal 
affairs, and by both bodies he is greatly 
missed. The town was also an object of his 
care. In the First Congregational Church, of 
which he was a member, in the town govern- 
ment, in school matters, banks, and business 
matters generally, he was an honored and 
trusted counsellor. Mr. Dickinson was active 
in the formation of the Cemetery Association, 
and the grounds in Wildwood Cemetery were 
laid out under his supervision. He was also 
connected with the gas company and Village 
Improvement Society, and no man has done 
more to beautify the town he loved so well. 
He was for many years President of the Am- 
herst Water Company, and was one of the first 
to take an interest in supplying water to the 
town. He served as moderator of town meet- 
ings for nearly twenty years, always presiding 
with dignity and fairness. In politics he was 
a Republican; but he would not support nomi- 
nations that he regarded as unfit. Had he 
cared for political honors, he might easily 
have attained them. He was not specially 
gifted as a speaker, but he had the facultv of 
communicating much in few words. 



33° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Dickinson's was a strong, forceful per- 
sonality, public-spirited in the larger mean- 
ing of the term, and so outspoken that there 
was no misunderstanding his attitude on any 
subject. He disliked mere show and hypoc- 
risy, and never sought to cloak disagreeable 
matters in diplomatic language. Though 
loyal in his friendships, it was not easy to 
gain his confidence. Those, however, who 
once won his regard were welcome to the best 
of his heart and life. He had a wide acquaint- 
ance with prominent men, many of whom 
enjoyed the hospitality of his home. He was 
exceedingly fond of fine pictures, a most ap- 
preciative reader of the best literature; and 
he was optimistic in faith, thoroughly believ- 
ing that "Evil is only the slave of God, sor- 
row the servant of Joy." 

On July i, 1856, he married Susan Hunt- 
ington Gilbert, daughter of Thomas Gilbert, 
then living in Greenfield, Mass. Mrs. Dick- 
inson survives her husband with two children. 
These are: Edward, assistant librarian of 
Amherst College; and Miss Martha G. Dick- 
inson. A younger son, Gilbert, died twelve 
years ago. Mr. Dickinson died of heart fail- 
ure, August 16, 1895. There is no doubt that 
his end was hastened by overwork. Rarely 
has any community been called upon to mourn 
the death of a man who was so thoroughly rep- 
resentative of its best citizenship. 



M 



EACON LYMAN SABIN, an old 
and highly respected resident of 
Belchertown, was born in that place, 
August 15, 1 8 1 3, son of Thomas and Abigail 
(Durfey) Sabin, both natives of Ellington, 
Conn. Mr. Sabin is of French descent, his 
first ancestor in this country being a Hugue- 
not who fled from France to England, and 
thence to Wales, coming to this country in 



the year 1630. Being a man of wealth and 
culture, he was prominent in Rehoboth, 
Mass., at the time when that town was organ- 
ized, and was very influential in the colony. 
His will was probated in Boston, and it is 
believed on good authority that he is buried 
in the old Granary Burying-ground in that 
city. (See History of the Rev. Anson Titus, 
Jr., published in 1881.) 

Monsieur Sabin's son Benjamin, who was 
born in Rehoboth, removed to Roxbury; and 
there his son Nehemiah, the great-grandfather 
of Deacon Sabin, was born. Nehemiah Sabin 
went to Pomfret, Conn., and married Ruth 
Cooper. She bore him several children, of 
whom one, named Thomas, born in 1744, was 
the grandfather of our subject. Thomas 
Sabin had a son, Thomas, Jr., born in Elling- 
ton, Conn., December 22, 1783, who was 
Deacon Sabin's father. In early manhood 
Thomas Sabin, Jr., settled in Wilbraham, and 
later removed to Belchertown, where he pur- 
chased a farm of one hundred acres. On this 
farm he spent the remainder of his life, sow- 
ing and reaping the harvests of many busy 
years, and passed away in March, 1885, at the 
age of one hundred and one. His wife was 
born July 3, 1787, and died in August, 1846. 
They reared five children: Lewis, Laura, 
Sherman, Lyman, and Abigail. Lewis Sabin 
became a widely known and respected preacher 
of the Congregationalist faith, and was pastor 
of the church at Templeton for thirty-five 
years. He was a very scholarly man, and was 
beloved and looked up to by all who knew 
him. He married Maria P. Dickinson, of 
Hadley. 

Lyman Sabin was reared and received a fair 
education in his native town, and there taught 
school for some time before entering upon his 
life vocation of farming. He succeeded to 
the proprietorship of the homestead, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



33' 



to-day harvests from the same broad acres the 
bountiful crops that smiled upon his father. 
The farm is pleasantly located upon the west 
side of Sabin Hill. The house occupies a 
commanding position upon an eminence, from 
which the view is magnificent. The line of 
vision takes in Mount Holyoke and Mount 
Tom; and on a clear day Mount Greylock is 
plainly visible, outlined against the western 
horizon. The buildings on the Sabin farm 
are in good condition, the house is cosey and 
homelike, and the whole domain is a heritage 
to be proud of. 

In 1839 Mr. Sabin was married to Lucy 
Colton Stebbins, who was born in Belcher- 
town, November 2, 181 2, daughter of Samuel 
H. and Nancy (Reed) Stebbins and a direct 
descendant in the seventh generation of Row- 
land Stebbins. ( For a history of the Steb- 
bins family see the "Annals of Belchertown," 
by the late Hon. Mark Doolittle.) Mr. and 
Mrs. Sabin reared three children: Maria 
Dickinson, Abigail Durfey, and Laura So- 
phia. Maria D. Sabin graduated from Mount 
Holyoke Seminary, and followed the profes- 
sion of teacher up to the time of her marriage, 
when she became the wife of Joshua Longley, 
of Belchertown, who died in 1875. They had 
one child, Marion Sabin Longley, born < Icto- 
ber 15, 1874, who passed away in August, 
1887. After her husband's death Mrs. Long- 
ley resumed teaching. Abigail D. Sabin 
married Lewis Williams, and lives in Kent, 
Ohio. Laura Sophia's life has been spent at 
the home of her parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sabin have spent together 
fifty-six years of married life, strengthened to 
bear life's burdens by mutual aid and sym- 
pathy. Although so advanced in years, they 
enjoy fairly good health. They are members 
of the Congregational church, in whose affairs 
Mr. Sabin has always taken an active part, 



being Deacon for many years, teacher in the 
Sunday-school, and one of the leading singers 
in the choir. Ranking among the oldest resi- 
dents of the town, he and Mrs. Sabin are 
regarded with esteem by all who know them. 



/^AAPTAIN WILLIAM BIRD KIM- 
l J[ BALL, one of Enfield's prominent 
V»~__^ citizens, a veteran of the Civil 
War, and formerly a member of the Massachu- 
setts legislature, was born in Oakham, Mass., 
June 2, 1833, son of James and Emily 
(Parker) Kimball. Captain Kimball is a 
direct descendant of Richard Kimball, who, 
in company with his brother Henry, emigrated 
from England in 1634, and settled in Water- 
town, Mass. Richard Kimball, who was a 
wheelwright by trade, moved to Ipswich, 
Mass., where he died in 1675; an( J tne de- 
scent continues as follows: Benjamin, son of 
Richard Kimball, who resided in Bradford, 
Mass., died January 11, 1696. His son, Cap- 
tain Richard Kimball, who also resided in 
Bradford, married Sarah Spofford, September 
17, 1682, and raised a family of six children. 
He died January 21, 1732 or 1733; and his 
son, Richard Kimball, who was born May 27, 
1689, married Mary Stickney in 1716. He 
was the father of three children; namely, 
Richard, Sarah, and Dorothy, of whom Rich- 
ard, who was bom September 21, 1721, was 
Captain Kimball's great-grandfather. He 
married Sarah Harriman, and raised a family 
of eight children, of whom James, Captain 
Kimball's grandfather, was the second son. 
James Kimball was born in Haverhill, Mas-,., 
February 4, 1758. He resided in Bradford, 
was a successful business man, and died Janu- 
ary 15, 1829. He was three times married: 
and his third wife, Ruth Kimball, Captain 
Kimball's grandmother, who was bom January 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



28, 1 761 , became the mother of one son, 
James, Jr., Captain Kimball's father. The 
grandmother died January 6, 1832. 

James Kimball, Jr., was born in Bradford, 
October 5, 1797. He graduated from Middle- 
bury College in 1821, and became a Con- 
gregational preacher. He relinquished his 
pastoral duties, and engaged in missionary 
work in Boston, where he labored diligently 
and successfully for some years. He was a 
resident of Oakham for twenty-nine years, and 
was actively engaged in church work until his 
death, which occurred March 15, 1861. His 
wife, Emily Parker before marriage, who was 
born in Groveland, Mass., September 5, 1800, 
became the mother of six children, four of 
whom reached maturity; and of these Captain 
William B., the subject of this sketch, is the 
only survivor. Those deceased were: Martha 
A., James P., Maria L., Daniel T., and 
Leonard D. The mother died in Hayden- 
ville, Mass., October 18, 1874. 

William Bird Kimball passed his boyhood 
in Oakham, and prepared for his collegiate 
course in Easthampton. He entered Amherst 
College, from which he graduated with the 
class of 1856. Immediately after completing 
his studies he engaged in agriculture in West- 
boro, where he conducted a large dairy farm 
until the commencement of the Civil War. 
He then enlisted as a private in Company K, 
Thirteenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers, and was mustered into service as a Cor- 
poral July 16, 1861. His regiment was 
attached to the Army of the Potomac, and 
participated in all of its decisive battles. He 
saw much hard service, his term of enlistment 
extending over the most important period of 
the Rebellion; but he escaped without injury. 
He was promoted from grade to grade, and 
was honorably discharged from the service 
August 1, 1864, as Captain of his company. 



After leaving the army, Captain Kimball set- 
tled in Enfield, where he resumed his former 
occupation; and since 1865 he has resided in 
Enfield village. His farm of two hundred 
acres is mostly on Great Quabbin Mountain. 
Besides general farming, he has engaged ex- 
tensively in the buying and selling of cattle. 
His residence, which is one of the finest and 
most substantial in Enfield, was erected by the 
Hon. J. B. Woods in 1835, and is still in a 
good state of preservation. 

On February 17, 1858, Captain Kimball 
was united in marriage to Frances C. Woods. 
She was born in Enfield, August 8, 1835, 
daughter of the Hon. Josiah B. Woods. Mrs. 
Kimball's grandfather, Deacon Aaron Woods, 
moved from New Braintree to Enfield in 1785, 
and purchased a large tract of land on Great 
Quabbin Mountain, which became known as 
the Woods farm. He was a representative 
citizen of his day, and the remainder of his 
life was passed in Enfield. The Hon. Josiah 
B. Woods was born in Enfield, November 18, 
1796. He was closely identified with the 
early development of the industrial resources 
of his native town, and for many years was 
engaged in the manufacture of flannels and 
satinet goods. He also conducted mercantile 
business in connection with his mills. He 
was a very prominent man in Enfield, possess- 
ing literary talents of a high order, and was 
also a clever inventor. 

Captain Kimball has long been prominent 
in public affairs in Enfield. He has served 
as a member of the Board of Selectmen, Town 
Clerk, Treasurer, and Assessor for several 
years, and was Overseer of the Poor and a 
member of the School Board for over twenty- 
five years. In 1877 he was elected to repre- 
sent his district in the legislature, and 
rendered able service in that capacity. He 
has advanced in Masonry as far as the Blue 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



333 



Lodge, and is a comrade of the Grand Army 
of the Republic in Enfield. During the pres- 
ent year he has taken up his residence in Bos- 
ton, but he will continue to realize much 
enjoyment in passing a portion of his time at 
his old home among the beautiful and pictur- 
esque scenery of Western Massachusetts. 
Captain and Mrs. Kimball are members of 
the Conaxefrational church. 



OHN H. STORRS, a large real estate 
dealer and one of the successful busi- 
ness men of the town of Ware, was 
born in Victory Mills, Saratoga County, 
WW, in 1831, son of John Frink and Sally 
(Topliff) Storrs. 

John Henry Storrs, his paternal grand- 
father, was a successful agriculturist of Ash- 
ford, Conn. He married Miss Polly Frink, 
and three sons and a daughter were born of 
their union, as follows: John Frink Storrs; 
Bazalel Storrs, a farmer, who died at the age 
of sixty-two years, leaving no family; Will- 
iam Storrs, who is married, but has no chil- 
dren; and Polly, the wife of Harvey 
Sedgwick, of Palmer, Mass. 

John Frink Storrs, when grown to man- 
hood, turned his attention to the livery busi- 
ness, which he first took up in Oswego, N.Y. 
In 1839 he came to Monson, Mass., and later 
resided successively in Stafford and at Elling- 
ton, Conn., but finally removed to Ware in 
1856. Although he began without cash capi- 
tal, he was very successful. He had a large 
and profitable business. Besides his livery 
stable, he had on the road thirteen stages, re- 
quiring the employment of eighty horses. 
His wife, to whom he was married in 181S, 
bore him a son and daughter; namely, John 
H. Storrs and Maria Storrs. The latter was 
for about forty years the leading milliner of 



Ware. She has now retired, and resides with 
her brother. Their mother died in i860, 
sixty-two years of age; and their father, after 
living to the age of seventy-nine years, passed 
away eight years later. 

John H. Storrs attended the high school 
and Monson Academy, and later the school at 
Stafford, Conn. He left school to tai. 
clerkship in a general merchandise store, 
where he remained for six years. He then 
purchased a team, and during the succeeding 
six years was successfully engaged in selling 
goods throughout Tolland County, Connecti- 
cut, and vicinity. In 1856 he removed to 
Ware, where he opened a dry-goods and mil- 
liner)- store in company with Charles Wilcox, 
under the firm name of Wilcox & Storrs. 
Two years later his partner withdrew; and he 
carried on the business alone until 1869, at 
which time, having overworked so that his 
health was failing him, he sold out to parties 
from Boston. He then took up the real estate 
business. He began by purchasing vacant 
land, erecting buildings upon it, and then 
selling or renting the same. In 1868 he 
began to build on seven acres of land that he- 
had purchased for two thousand dollars in 
1866. Of this land within the past three 
years he has sold about fifty building lots, at 
prices ranging from three hundred to one 
thousand dollars each. He also purchased a 
farm containing fifty-eight acres, for which he 
paid seven thousand, five hundred dollars. 
The sale of a part of this property has brought 
him twenty-five thousand dollars, and lie has 
still a large part of it left. His suns, John 
H.. Jr., and George D., are now engaged in 
the business with him; and they are the larg- 
est operators in Ware. Among the buildings 
they have erected are: the brick blocks on 
Main and North Streets, embracing eleven 
stores and the post-office: anil the Mansion 



334 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



House, a fine modern hotel. They have also 
four other stores, which they rent. The erec- 
tion of stores and blocks was begun in 1 88 1 . 
Besides attending to his own property, Mr. 
Storrs also takes charge of property belonging 
to non-residents. 

He has been twice married. The maiden 
name of his first wife was Miss Delia Pierce. 
She died in 1859. He afterward married 
Miss Emma J. Draper, a daughter of Lyman 
Draper. Of the six children born of this 
union one died when nine months old and one 
at the age of three years and six months. 
The others are: John H. Storrs, Jr.; George 
D. Storrs; Mabel O., wife of George W. 
Dunham, the teller of the Ware Savings 
Bank; and Mary B. Storrs, who is now at 
Smith College and a member of the class of 
1896. Mr. Storrs has one grandson, John H. 
Storrs, third, son of John H. Storrs, Jr., who 
is six years of age. His second wife died 
July 13, 1 891, in the fifty-first year of her 
age. Mr. Storrs votes with the Democratic 
party. He has been a Selectman and Asses- 
sor for many years. 




jYMAN W. CLAPP, an enterprising 
agriculturist of Westhampton, was 
born in that town, September 5, 
1859, son of Reuben and Susan (Burt) Clapp. 
Mr. Clapp was reared on the family homestead 
to the occupation he follows. In his boy- 
hood clays he assisted on the farm in labors 
suitable for his years, while attending school 
in the neighborhood. After finishing with 
school, he gave his whole time to farm work, 
putting into practice the lessons in agriculture 
imparted by his father, and in time attained 
the skill and thoroughness which mark his 
farming to-day. His undertakings are inva- 
riably successful. With characteristic enter- 



prise he has also established a substantial 
business in manufacturing lumber, owning 
and operating a saw-mill in this locality. He 
takes an earnest interest in public affairs, 
and is foremost in promoting all legitimate 
schemes designed for the advancement of the 
town or the county. For the past two years 
Mr. Clapp has held the office of Selectman 
and Assessor. He is also Road Commis- 
sioner, Field Driver, and Constable. Politi- 
cally, he is a sound Republican. Both he 
and his wife are sincere and faithful members 
of the Congregational church. 

On June 8, 1886, Mr. Clapp was united in 
marriage with I^lizabeth Ewing, daughter of 
William Ewing. Their union has been 
blessed by the birth of four children, one of 
whom died in infancy. The others are: Her- 
bert Wright, George Ewing, and Mary Eliza- 
beth. He and his family reside on the old 
homestead with his parents, whose sunset 
years he is careful to see are spent in quiet- 
ness and comfort. 



61 HE SWIFT RIVER COMPANY of 
^ I Enfield, well known throughout the 
United States as manufacturers of a 
fine quality of fancy cassimeres and silk mixt- 
ures, dates back to the year 182 1, when the 
firm, under the title of D. & A. Smith, began 
in a small way the manufacture of cotton 
goods. Fifteen years later, in 1836, the fac- 
tory was destroyed by fire, but was immedi- 
ately rebuilt. The firm, which then consisted 
of Alfred, David, and Alvin Smith, continued 
to carry on the enterprise until 1852, when 
they were joined by Edward Smith, and the 
present company was organized. Each year 
the plant was increased in size, and new 
improvements were introduced. Finally, in 
1862, the mill was enlarged to double its 




ARTHUR L. KINGSBURY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



337 



former capacity. The old cotton and satinet 
machinery was removed, and in its place there 
were set up eight sets of machinery for the 
manufacture of fancy cassimeres. The mill 
is supplied with both steam and water power, 
and is kept in operation the entire year round. 
It is the leading enterprise of the village of 
Smiths, furnishing employment to about one 
hundred and twenty-five people. The present 
members of the firm are Edward P. Smith and 
his brother, Henry M. Smith, the former 
holding the position of President and Treas- 
urer and the latter that of General Manager 
and Agent of the company. 

Edward Smith, the father of Edward P. and 
Henry M. Smith, was born in the town of 
Gran by, this county, and lived there on a 
farm until he was twenty-five years old. He 
then went to Holyoke, where he conducted a 
small cotton-mill for a time; and he and his 
brothers acquired possession of the entire 
water privilege of Holyoke, and held it up to 
1847. After that he was engaged in various 
enterprises until 1852, when he became iden- 
tified with the Swift River Company. His 
connection with that firm continued until his 
death, in April, 1891, eighty-six years of age. 
He was an old-time Whig, and later became 
a stanch Republican. He was very active in 
political matters, and served one term as a 
member of the State legislature. During 
many years of his life he was an active worker 
in the Congregational church and a liberal 
contributor for both church and educational 
purposes. In the course of one year he gave 
twenty-five thousand dollars to five different 
colleges. He married Eliza Smith, of 
Granby. They have two sons by the marriage 
and two by adoption. The former are: Ed- 
ward P., born in Granby, Mass., September 3, 
1833; and Henry M., also a native of Granby, 
born August 20, 1835. 



Edward P. Smith, the senior member of the 
Swift River Company, completed his early 
education in the academy at Easthampton, 
after which he entered Yale College. He was 
married in 1856 to Miss Charlotte J. Woods, 
of Enfield. They have no children. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican; and, while he takes 
much interest in his town, and has served one 
term as Selectman, he is to-day far too l>u>v 
a man to accept office. His residence, which 
lies between the two villages of Enfield and 
Smiths, is one of the finest in the district; 
and a prettier view than that which surrounds 
his home would be hard to find in Hampshire 
County. 

Henry M. Smith completed his education 
at Williston Seminary. He was then em- 
ployed for two years in a store in South Had- 
ley, after which he came to Enfield, and went 
to work in the mill of which he and his 
brother are now the owners. In November, 
i860, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Loraine P. Andrews, of Enfield, who has 
borne him an interesting family of two sons 
and a daughter: Marion A., Alfred \Y., and 
Edward. Like his brother, he is a stanch 
Republican and one of the most influential 
citizens of Enfield. He has served as Select- 
man and in other offices. They reside in the 
elegant residence recently erected above the 
village of Smiths, surrounded by luxury of 
the extent and character consistent with a 
cultured taste. 




RTHUR L. KINGSBURY, the gentle- 
man whose portrait is seen on the 
adjoining page, is extensively en- 
gaged in the paper -box industry at Northamp- 
ton, Mass. He was born in Tolland County, 
Connecticut, January 2, 1861. His father, 
Addison Kingsbury, was born in 1836 at 






BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



South Coventry, Conn., and was a son of 
Alvin Kingsbury, a woollen manufacturer of 
that town. Grandfather Kingsbury married 
a cousin of the same name, and reared three 
sons and two daughters, of whom Addison and 
his two sisters are the only survivors, two 
sons having died in their youth. Alvin 
Kingsbury reached an age somewhat in ad- 
vance of middle life, and his wife attained 
seventy years. Addison Kingsbury married 
Elizabeth Libbie, a native of Scotland, 
Conn., and their three children were: Arthur 
L. ; Charlotte, who died at the age of three 
years; and Louis Addison, who is now in 
charge of the box-manufacturing business 
which his father established in 1868 at Cov- 
entry. The mother died in 1880, at the age 
of forty-three years ; and Addison Kingsbury 
married for his second wife Sarah M. Scott, 
of Coventry. 

Arthur L. Kingsbury acquired his educa- 
tion in his native town; and, although he 
was obliged to leave school before completing 
his course, for the purpose of attending to his 
father's business, he continued to pursue his 
studies while thus engaged, and was graduated 
with his class in 1880. In the following year 
he came to Northampton, and assumed charge 
of the paper-box manufactory founded by his 
father. The business under his energetic 
management rapidly grew in proportions, and 
in 1893 the company was incorporated of 
which he is now General Manager and Treas- 
urer. They occupy a large three-story brick 
block, one hundred feet by fifty feet, situated 
at 38 and 40 North Street, and employ from 
sixty to seventy-five workmen, their product 
for the year 1894 amounting to two million, 
seven hundred thousand boxes. 

In 18S4 Mr. Kingsbury married Alice 
Palmer, of Willimantic, Conn., daughter of 
Louis and Ellen (Davidson) Palmer, her par- 



ents being natives of Scotland, Conn. Miss 
Palmer was graduated in 1878 from the same 
school which Mr. Kingsbury attended, and 
she taught there from that year until her mar- 
riage. Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury are members 
of the Edwards Congregational Church, and 
reside at 88 North Street, where Mr. Kings- 
bury erected a very pleasant and comfortable 
residence in 1889. They have one son, 
named Harold, now eight years of age. 



•OHN F. MORELL, an agriculturist of 
Amherst, was born in Lenox, Mass., 
December 16, 1837, son of Horace F. 
and Mary A. (Pierce) Morell and grandson of 
John Morell. The latter was born in Bucks 
County, Pennsylvania, on January 9, 1753. 
He was a tanner, and successfully followed 
his trade while also engaged in farming. He 
lived in Lenox, Mass., during the greater part 
of his life, and was Captain of a company in 
the State militia. He was the father of eight 
sons and a daughter, all now deceased. His 
death occurred at Lenox on April 13, 181 8. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Esther 
Fowler, died March 25, 1828. 

Horace F. Morell was one of twins. He 
was a soldier in the War of 1812. With this 
exception he spent his life in Lenox in the 
occupation of a farmer. Besides the old 
Morell homestead, he owned a farm of 
seventy-five acres. He was a hard-working 
and successful man. He died when seventy- 
two years of age, and his wife's death occurred 
when she was seventy-three. Both attended 
the Congregational church, and in politics he 
was a Whig. Of the eight children born of 
their union four reached maturity, while but 
one, John F., now survives. Those deceased 
were: Mary F., born in Lenox, October 30, 
[821, who died November 24, 1857; John P., 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



339 



born February 7, 1823, who died September 
12, 1823; Abigail P., born July 26, 1824, 
who died March 3, 1833; Catharine M., born 
August 31, 1827, who died March 15, 1S90; 
William A., born November 13, 1831, who 
died October 31, 1885; Abigail J., born July 
19, 1834, who died December 20, 1841 ; and 
George H., born October 17, 1841, who died 
August 31, 1 85 1. 

John F. Morell acquired a good practical 
education in the common schools and academy 
of Lenox, Mass. He remained on the old 
homestead until thirty-five years of age, devot- 
ing his attention to agriculture. He was also 
connected with the Central Berkshire Chron- 
icle of Lee. He was editor of this paper for 
sixteen months. He was also a reporter on 
the Union and the Springfield Republican for 
some time. Later on he engaged in the coal 
trade in Lenox, and continued in it for several 
years. In 18S2 he moved to his present farm 
in South Amherst. It contains two hundred 
and ten acres of land, and is one of the largest 
farms in that part of the town. He is now 
carrying on mixed farming with success, mak- 
ing a special feature of his dairying. His 
farm is in a good condition, and his residence 
is pleasant and attractive. 

In 1861, on November 6, he was joined in 
marriage with Miss Martha J. Bradley, a 
native of Lee. She died in 1877, aged thirty- 
seven years, leaving a son and daughter, 
Cora D. and William B., both of whom are 
now living. In May, 1881, he married for 
his second wife Miss Alice G. Goodrich, who 
was born in Stockbridge, Mass. By this 
union he also has a son and daughter; namely, 
Edith G. and George F. 

The Republican party numbers Mr. Morell 
among its faithful adherents. He was its 
candidate for the legislature in 1874, and, 
although running far ahead of his ticket, was 



defeated by the reactionary movement against 
prohibition in that election. For several 
years he has acted as chairman of the Repub- 
lican Town Committee of Amherst. He has 
served his town most acceptably whenever 
chosen for any official capacity. He has been 
Assessor, and he is now a member of the 
School Committee. While a resident of 
Lenox, he served on the School Committee, 
and was chairman of that board for nine years. 
He served several successive years as modera- 
tor of the Lenox town meetings, and has long 
been President of the Village Improvement 
and Cemetery Associations. He is a member 
of the Amherst Grange. Though liberal in 
his religious views, he attends the Congrega- 
tional church, of which he is one of the larg- 
est supporters, and of which his wife is an 
officer. 



AVID HILL, a well-known and re- 
spected attorney of Northampton, 



e^-K.^ was born in Perrinton, Monroe 
County, N.Y., on February 9, 1838. On the 
paternal side he is of English antecedents, his 
father, Robert Hill, having been born and 
bred in Yorkshire, England. 

After arriving at maturity, Robert Hill left 
his Yorkshire home for America, going first 
to Canada, where he lived a few years, and 
where in 1829 he married Isabel McMitchell, 
who, born in the north of Ireland, was reared 
in Canada. He was a blacksmith, following 
that trade in Perrinton, N.Y., whither he 
removed soon after his marriage, until past 
middle life, also carrying on general farming 
on the homestead which he there purchased. 
Both he and his wife lived to an advanced 
age. He died in 1879, and she ten years 
later. They had a family of sixteen children, 
of whom four sons and four daughters grew to 
adult life. Of the four sons two have since 



34° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



died, namely: George H., a farmer in Wayne 
County, New York, who died at Palmyra, 
August 4, 1894, aged sixty-four years, leaving 
one son and one daughter; and Robert L., 
a farmer on the old homestead, died at the 
age of fifty-six years. One son besides the 
subject of this sketch is now living; namely, 
Nelson H. Hill, a farmer at Bushnell Basin, 
Monroe County, N.Y. 

David Hill was reared on the home farm, 
and there obtained a practical experience in 
agriculture, not taking a permanent leave of 
farm life until about thirty years of age. He 
acquired a good education, leaving the district 
school when fifteen years old to attend the 
Lima Academy, and subsequently pursuing 
his studies at Fairfield Academy, in Herkimer 
County. This institution he left in 1862 to 
defend the old flag, volunteering as a private 
in the One Hundred and Twenty-first New 
York Volunteer Infantry. He was early pro- 
moted to the rank of First Lieutenant. On 
his promotion his friends at home presented 
him with a sword, toward the purchase of 
which no one was allowed to contribute more 
than one dollar. This sword is one of Mr. 
Hill's most cherished possessions. His war 
service, however, was mostly in the Army of 
the Potomac, as Captain of Company F, One 
Hundred and Fifty-second New York Volun- 
teer Infantry, from which he was discharged 
a scarred veteran, he having received many 
wounds, though the only very serious one was 
the wound in his right hand, received at the 
battle of Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864. After 
receiving his discharge, he returned to Fair- 
field Seminary, and completed his course 
there, and then entered Amherst College, 
Amherst, Mass., graduating in the semi-cen- 
tennial class of 1 87 1. In the fall of 1871 
Mr. Hill came to Easthampton, accepting the 
position of a teacher in Williston Seminary, 



where he remained as one of the corps of 
instructors five years. While there he de- 
voted his leisure to his professional studies, 
reading law with Judge Bassett, and entered 
the Boston University Law School in 1877. 
He graduated from there the following year, 
and was admitted to the bar in June, 1878. 
In 1882, having rested and travelled in the 
West for a year, Mr. Hill formed a copartner- 
ship with J. B. O'Donnell in Northampton, 
and has since then won an excellent reputa- 
tion in his professional career and a large 
general law practice. Politically, he is an 
uncompromising Democrat, although he has 
not been conspicuous in official positions. 
For three years he served as chairman of the 
Board of Education in Easthampton, and for 
several years has been chairman of the parish 
committee of the Payson Congregational 
Church of that place. 

Mr. Hill was married June 7, 1880, to 
Josephine Scott, of Perrinton, N.Y., a daugh- 
ter of William Scott, deceased. They have 
five sons, as follows: David Arthur, born in 
1880, who is in Williston Seminary; Anson 
Harris, born in 1883; Robert Scott, born in 
1885; Francis Web, born in 1887; and Jo- 
seph Henry, a bright little lad, born in 1892. 
Should these sons, so favorably launched upon 
life's journey, grow to stalwart men, with the 
physical, mental, and moral attainments of 
their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hill will have 
served their day and generation well, and will 
have a family of which they may be justly 
proud. 

HRISTOPHER W. PAIGE, an old 
and respected resident of Prescott, 
was born in Hardwick, Mass., Feb- 
ruary 22, 1 82 1, son of Christopher and Judith 
(Bigelow) Paige. The Paige family is of 
English and Scotch origin. The first repre- 




BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



54< 



sentatives in this country were three brothers, 
who came to America in 1665, and settled in 
Medford, Mass., where the old Paige farm is 
still occupied by members of the family. 
Jesse Paige, the grandfather of Christopher 
\\\, was an early settler in Hardwick, where 
he worked industriously, tilling the soil dur- 
ing a long and exemplar)' life, and was counted 
among the well-to-do residents. In religious 
belief he was a Congregationalist. A family 
of five children brightened his household, two 
sons and three daughters. 

Christopher Paige, the father of Mr. Paige, 
was born and bred in Hardwick. In 1822 he 
iimved to Prescott, settling on the farm which 
is now occupied by his son, and for many 
years was engaged in general farming. The 
Paige farm was formerly owned by Constant 
Ruggles; and at the time of its purchase by 
Mr. Paige it consisted of one hundred acres of 
good land, the yearly crops from which yielded 
him a handsome income. Politically, Mr. 
Paige supported Democratic principles. He 
was a man of prominence in the town, and 
served as Postmaster, Selectman, and in other 
minor offices. His religious creed was that 
of a Congregationalist, and he was an active 
worker in the interest of the Congregational 
Society of the town. He lived to be eighty- 
one years of age, dying at the homestead. 
His wife, who was a native of North Brook- 
field, attained the advanced age of ninety-two. 
Six children were born to them, as follows: 
John Foster, who died at the age of eighty- 
three; Nancy, wife of Chester Conkey, also 
deceased; Mary, who died in the dawn of 
young womanhood, at the age of sixteen; 
Francis B., familiarly known as Deacon 
Paige, who died at seventy-si.x ; Abigail, 
widow of Rodney Russell, residing in Pres- 
cott; and Christopher W., whose name heads 
this article. 



Christopher W. Paige received his educa- 
tion in the schools of Prescott. At the same 
time he acquired familiarity with the details 
of farm work. After finishing with school, 
he worked on the home farm for some time 
longer, and then for the succeeding twenty- 
five years in miscellaneous callings. These 
included stock trading, peddling, fur dealing, 
and trapping. In 1867 he purchased the old 
home farm, and has since been successfully 
engaged in its cultivation. This is said to be 
the oldest farm in town. The dwelling-house, 
which was built in 1810, is a fine type of the 
old-style New England family residence, gen- 
erously planned, with large airy rooms. At 
the time of its erection it was one of the best 
houses in the locality, and in the many years 
that have passed since that time it seems to 
have lost little of its stability. 

On April 9, 1845, ^ r - Paige was united in 
marriage with Mary E. Bigelow, a native of 
North Brookfield, born March 25, 1825, 
daughter of John and Betsey (Maynard) Bige- 
low. She died August 3, 1895, after com- 
pleting over fifty years of married life. She 
was highly esteemed by all who knew her, 
and was a faithful Christian wife and mother. 
Three sons and three daughters were born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Paige, as follows: Mary Jane, 
who died in infancy, living but seventeen 
months; Charles W., who lives with his 
father; John C, also on the home farm; Mary 
B., wife of Reuben Horr, a farmer of Pres- 
cott; Warren B. and Nellie Belle, living at 
the old home. 

Mr. Paige votes with the Democratic party. 
He has been and is still one of the most 
active citizens of the town, and is respected 
and loved by all who know him. He is a 
member of the Congregational church, which 
he and his wife joined in 1875, and has served 
as a church official. Though he has lived 



342 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



nearly three-quarters of a century, he con- 
tinues in active occupation upon his farm; 
and much of his leisure time also is spent out 
of doors. He takes much interest in a varied 
collection of fish with which he has stocked a 
pond on his estate, and he may be often seen 
engaged in feeding his finny pets. 



KREDERICK A. DAYTON, Superin- 
tendent of Streets at Northampton, 
Mass., was born in his present resi- 
dence, February 27, 1856. 

Mr. Dayton is a son of Charles Dayton, 
who was born in 1807 in Norwich, Conn., and 
in 1837 married Abbie Brown, the daughter 
of Brigham Brown, of Leicester, Mass. After 
their marriage the parents settled on the fifty- 
acre farm in this town. In addition to tilling 
the soil, Mr. Dayton established the first milk 
route in Northampton, carrying the milk from 
house to house suspended from his broad 
shoulders by means of a yoke, often sixty 
quarts at a time. He was very enterprising, 
and became quite influential. He was High- 
way Surveyor for many terms. He and his 
wife were among the early Methodists of this 
place, worshipping with that denomination 
when their meetings were held in the Town 
Hall. They had seven children that grew to 
maturity. They were as follows: Henry E., 
an artist, painter, and decorator, who died in 
the summer of 1894, leaving one son, George 
E. ; Franklin O., for many years a prominent 
business man of Chicopee, now living retired 
in Springfield; William H., formerly a part- 
ner with his brother Franklin O. in Chicopee, 
who died in May, 1884, leaving a widow; 
Hammond B., a machinist, and for many years 
a gauge and tool maker at Smith & Wesson's, 
who died in January, 1883, leaving a widow, 
who passed away about a year later; Julia E., 



wife of C. E. Hubbard, of Hatfield, and 
mother of Dr. Hubbard, of South Hadley; 
Ellen M., wife of G. W. Fitch, a dairy farmer 
in Amherst, who is the son of George C. 
Fitch, a wealthy farmer; and Frederick A., 
the subject of this review. The mother died 
in 1 88 1, having reached threescore years and 
ten. The father died in February, 1884. 

Frederick A. Dayton was educated in the 
grammar schools of Northampton. After 
reaching the age of twelve years, he was 
unable to attend school except during the 
winter months. He assisted on the farm of 
his brother-in-law during the summer season 
until he attained the age of sixteen. In the 
spring of 1873 he began to work at the car- 
penter's trade, which he followed for fourteen 
years. In that period he became the head 
mechanic and builder for Smith & Livermore. 
In 1885 he bought the Justin Thayer farm, 
adjoining the old Dayton homestead, and en- 
gaged in farming and dairying. He succeeded 
to the milk business of his father, but con- 
ducted it on a much larger scale, employing 
fine teams to take the milk over the long 
route. He was very successful during the 
eight or nine years in which he was employed 
in this way. He brought his farm to a high 
condition, and built a fine stock barn for the 
accommodation of his dairy of twenty cows. 
In all Mr. Dayton had the assistance of a 
kind-hearted and wealthy uncle, Lucien 
Brown, of Philadelphia. He sold his farm in 
June, 1894, to the Boston & Maine Railway 
Company at a handsome profit. He intends 
soon to build a family residence on Washing- 
ton Avenue. 

Mr. Dayton was first married May 12, 1874, 
to Rebecca McCandless, who died in 1885, 
leaving one daughter, Abbie B., the wife of 
Arthur O. Sanford, of Springfield. They had 
another daughter, Hattie R., who died in 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



343 



1883, at the age of six years. Within a year 
of his first wife's decease Mr. Dayton married 
Laura H. Clapp, the daughter of R. W. 
Clapp, of Westhampton, a descendant of one 
of the early settlers of that town, and a rela- 
tive of the first ordained minister of West- 
hampton. Two children have come of this 
union, namely: Laura C, born in 1889; and 
Frederick A., Jr., born in 1892. Mr. Day- 
ton belongs to the Independent Order of ( Idd 
Fellows, and in polities is a stanch Repub- 
lican. He has filled his present position as 
Superintendent of Streets for the past three 
years, giving universal satisfaction to all. 



-•-•••-v 




^AMUEL ALLFN, a very successful 
farmer and prominent resident of 
Belchertown, was born at Prescott, 
Mass., August 14, 182S. His father, Ros- 
well Allen, was born at East Windsor, Conn., 
in the year 1798; and his grandfather, Sam- 
uel Allen, was a lifelong resident of that 
State. 

Roswell Allen received a good common- 
school education, and in his young manhood 
taught school. In 1824 he married Beulah 
Chapin, and they had a family of eight chil- 
dren. In 1828 he moved to Prescott, where 
he continued to reside until 1845. He then 
removed to Belchertown, and settled upon a 
farm of two hundred and thirty acres, situated 
in the central portion of the town. He con- 
ducted this farm very successfully during the 
remainder of his life, and died on April 28, 
1868. He was a Whig in politics, and was a 
member of the legislature during the years 
1839 and 1840. 

Samuel Allen made the most of his oppor- 
tunities for procuring an education in the 
common schools and at the Hopkins Academy. 
He was an apt scholar and afterward an apt 



teacher. He commenced teaching school at 
the age of sixteen, and continued in that call- 
ing for the greater part of the succeeding 
fifteen years. He also engaged in land sur- 
veying both in his native town and the adjoin- 
ing counties. But finally, attracted by the 
independent life of a farmer, he purchased in 
i860 the property on which he now resides, 
and has since been prosperously engaged in 
fanning. 

Mr. Allen has been twice married. His 
first marriage, which was performed in 1857, 
was with Levica Sherman, daughter of 
Thomas Sherman, of Ware, Mass. They had 
four children; namely, Elizabeth S. A., Mary 
L., Roswell, and Thomas. Of these Eliza- 
beth married J. B. Ellis, of Crockett, Tex. 
The mother died February 26, 1879; and Mr. 
Allen wedded for his second spouse, in Octo- 
ber. 18S1, Mrs. Sarah E. (Rice) Walker, 
daughter of Lyman and Nancy (Bugbee) Rice, 
of Belchertown. Mrs. Allen's first husband 
was Henry L. Walker, son of Lyman and 
Alary (Gilbert) Walker, of Belchertown, 
where he was a successful farmer and resided 
his entire life. He died at the age of twenty- 
nine years, having been a member of the Con- 
gregational church and also an active worker 
in the Sabbath-school. Mr. Allen was for a 
period of twenty-five years a member of the 
School Board, and has always manifested a 
lively interest in all matters relating to edu- 
cation. He is independent in politics, and 
Mrs. Sarah E. Allen is a member of the Con- 
gregational church. 



TILLMAN S. DOWNING, a worthy 
/7~\ representative of one of the old 
families of Enfield and one of the 
few who have continued to reside on the 
homestead of their fathers, was born in En- 




344 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



field, August 12, 1823, son of James and Rox- 
ana (Firbush) Downing. 

James Downing was bom in Boston in the 
memorable year of 1775. Early in life he 
learned the trade of a shoemaker, and followed 
that vocation for many years. He also en- 
gaged in farming on a small scale, moving to 
Enfield about 18 14, where he settled on the 
farm now owned and occupied by his son, 
Stillman S. He reared a family of sixteen 
children. Of these four survive, and are as 
follows: George VV. Downing, a successful 
agriculturist of Enfield; Smith Downing, a 
large fruit-grower and farmer in the State of 
New York; Jerome F. Downing, a large land- 
owner of Erie, Pa., where he is also engaged 
in the insurance business, being prominently 
connected with the North American Insurance 
Company; and Stillman S. Downing, who is 
next to the youngest of those now living. It 
may be further said of Jerome F. Downing 
that he is a very successful man. Besides his 
property in Pennsylvania, he owns seven thou- 
sand acres of land in North Dakota, six thou- 
sand of which are under cultivation. As 
general agent of the North American Insur- 
ance Company he has the direction of two 
thousand men. The father died on the old 
home farm, eighty-three years of age, and the 
mother in the fifty-sixth year of her age. 

Stillman S. Downing received a good prac- 
tical education in the district school. As a 
child he showed considerable mechanical abil- 
ity in the erection of miniature chimneys and 
old-fashioned fireplaces from soft brick, which 
he cut up for the purpose. He was only seven 
or eight years old when he began to learn the 
trade of a mason. He has clone a great deal 
of the mason work in Enfield and vicinity, 
and still continues to follow that avocation to 
a limited extent. He has also engaged in 
general farming. Besides enlarging the old 



farm left to him by his father, he has bought 
another of one hundred and fifteen acres in 
Belchertown, this county, making in all about 
two hundred acres. Mr. Downing is essen- 
tially a self-made man. During all his life 
he has enjoyed most excellent health, never 
having had occasion to call a doctor to his 
home. On October 8, 1856, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Ruth Carter, who was 
born in Canada in January, 1824. He has 
one daughter, Eliza Downing, just now absent 
from home. His wife died August 11, 1877. 
In his political relations Mr. Downing is a 
stanch Republican, while in matters concern- 
ing religion he is liberal. 



IRVING B. HAYES, M.D., a well- 
known and very successful physician of 
Florence, Mass., was born at Farming- 
ton, N.H., March 17, 1862. His father, 
Benjamin F. Hayes, was born there in 18 13, 
his grandfather, David Hayes, in 1787, the 
latter having been a son of Joseph Hayes, 
whose father, Benjamin, was a son of Peter 
Hayes and a grandson of John Hayes, who 
emigrated from Scotland, and settled at 
Dover, N.H., in 1680. David Hayes wedded 
Eliza Furber, daughter of Richard Furber, 
and successfully followed agriculture in 
Strafford County, New Hampshire, where the 
family have resided for a period of over two 
hundred years. He raised a family of two 
sons and four daughters, who grew to matu- 
rity, and of whom Dr. Hayes's father and his 
sister Deborah, wife of Jonathan Seavey, of 
Rochester, N.H., are the only survivors. 
David Hayes died at the age of seventy-two, 
in the year 1859; and his wife survived him 
about six years. Mrs. Benjamin F. Hayes, 
whose name before marriage was Elizabeth 
Waldron, was born at South Berwick, Me., in 




IRVING B. HAYES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



347 



1817, and is still active at the age of seventy- 
eight years. Her father was the sixth consec- 
utive Richard Waldron, descended from 
William Waldron, brother of the famous 
Major Waldron, first President of the once 
republic of New Hampshire. The original 
ancestor, who came to America from England 
in 1634, and was known as Recorder William 
Waldron, settled at Dover, N.H., then a part 
of the Colony of Massachusetts, in 1636. 
The family, numerous members of which have 
distinguished themselves in different walks of 
life, have resided in Strafford County, New- 
Hampshire, for many years, occupying a posi- 
tion of wealth and influence. Dr. Hayes's 
maternal grandmother was a daughter of Rich- 
ard Kimball, of New Hampshire. The par- 
ents of Dr. Hayes, who were both teachers in 
early life, were married in the month of 
December, 1841. They reared five children, 
three sons and two daughters: Mary A. Hayes 
married R. G. Hayes, of Dover, and died at 
the age of twenty-one; David resides at the 
old homestead, having a wife and one child; 
Lizzie K. also lives at the home: Dr. J. G. 
Hayes, of Williamsburg, Mass., has one son. 
Irving B. Hayes, the third son, received his 
primary education in the common schools, and 
at the age of fourteen began his higher studies 
under the tuition of his brother and his 
cousin. At the age of seventeen he entered 
Dartmouth College, where he was graduated 
in 1883, when he was twenty-one years old. 
He followed civil engineering for three years, 
and then studied medicine at the University 
of New York, graduating from Long Island 
College Hospital in 1S89. He commenced 
the practice of his profession in Atlanta, Ga., 
where, in company with his brother, he re- 
sided until 1893, when he came to Florence, 
where he now has a very large and exceed- 
ingly profitable practice. He is a searching 



investigator into the scientific principles of 
his useful profession and one of the coming 
lights of the regular school of medical 
practice. 

On January 29, 1895, Dr. Hayes was most 
happily wedded to Miss Agnes F. Crier, of 
Florence, daughter of John and Sarah (Irwin) 
Crier. Her parents were natives of England, 
and are now deceased, the lather having first 
passed away. The mother, being left a 
widow, succeeded in providing her daughter 
with a good education, which was obtained at 
the schools of Holyoke and in Boston. Mis. 
Crier became well known and highly respected 
in Florence, where she was actively engaged 
in church work; and Miss Crier was a very 
successful music teacher previous to her 
marriage. Dr. Hayes is a Fellow of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society of the Hamp- 
shire County District and a Master Mason. 
The pleasant home where he now resides was 
purchased by him in 1894. 



-rj^NUSSELL L. ROBERTS, a respected 
I '^r citizen of Northampton, was born in 
-li? V ^ Gill, Franklin County, Mass., No- 
vember 10, 1824, son of Alsetus and Betsey 
(Robinson) Roberts. His paternal grand- 
father, whose wife was a Miss Brooks, was a 
farmer in Gill; and in that town Alsetus 
Roberts was born ami passed his life, dying 
in 1853, at the age of fifty-eight. Mrs. Rob- 
erts was born in Greenwich, Mass. She 
came of a long-lived family, her grandmother, 
Sarah (Smith) Robinson, living to the age of 
one hundred and two years, and her brothers 
and sisters outliving the allotted age of man. 
Mrs. Roberts died aged ninety-two years. 
The surviving children ot Mr. and Mrs. Rob- 
erts are as follows: Russell L., the subject of 
this sketch: Horatio X., a dentist in Alton, 



348 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



111., who has one son; Holland F., a farmer 
in Gill, unmarried; Lyman A., a printer in 
the employ of the government for the past ten 
years at Washington, who has a wife, one son, 
and two daughters, and who served three years 
in the Civil War. Those deceased are: Sarah 
C, Holland, Smith, and Mary Jane. 

Russell L. Roberts was reared to farm life, 
attending the district school regularly until 
ten years of age. After that, until he was 
eighteen, he went to school only in the win- 
ter, working upon the farm during the summer 
months. When a little over nineteen years 
old, he bought his time of his father for forty 
dollars, and worked four years in the woollen 
factory. He was then employed for a while 
at cutlery work in Shelburne Falls; and in 
1854 he moved to Portage, Wis., where he 
worked at carpentering. He finally came 
East to take charge of the farm of his father- 
in-law, which he now owns. He removed to 
Northampton in 1891, taking up his abode at 
68 High Street, in the comfortable dwelling 
which he erected in 1884. Besides his home 
property and the farm which formerly be- 
longed to his father-in-law, he owns two lots 
in Northampton, where he grows corn and 
potatoes. Mr. Roberts has retired from 
active work, and is living quietly at his home 
on High Street. 

On September 27, 1847, Mr. Roberts was 
united in marriage to Reuma R. Haynes, of 
Guilford, Vt., daughter of Asa and Sally 
(Briggs) Haynes, the former of Guilford, the 
latter of Leyden, Mass. Asa Haynes was a 
notable man in his day, strong mentally, phys- 
ically, and spiritually. He was a carpenter 
by trade, and was active in evangelical work, 
a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, preaching forcibly and earnestly. 
At one time he had charge of the Methodist 
Episcopal church at Hatfield. He broke one 



leg three times, the third fracture crippling 
him for life; but the brightness of his spirit 
was undimmed, and he preached eloquently 
from his bed of pain. He conducted a farm 
for family needs; and this, as already stated, 
Mr. Roberts, his son-in-law, took charge of 
and owns to-day. Asa Haynes died in 1868, 
in his eighty-fourth year. His wife died in 
1 86 1, at the age of seventy-eight. At the 
time of her death nine of their twelve children 
were living. Mr. and Mrs. Haynes left no 
property, but were tenderly cared for in their 
last days by Mr. and Mrs. Roberts. Mr. 
Roberts's mother also spent her last years 
with them. 

Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have had five chil- 
dren, all of whom have passed away. Two 
died in infancy, and Leuetta A. was fatally 
scalded when but a little over four years old. 
Russell J. Roberts died in December, 1885, 
aged thirty-eight years, leaving a widow and 
two children, one of whom, William H., is 
with his grandfather. Emerriah Roberts, 
who was a jeweller at Northampton, died in 
November, 1886, at the age of thirty-one, 
leaving a wife and one daughter, Lulu May 
Roberts. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts belong to 
the Methodist church, of which he has been 
a member nearly fifty years, and which she 
joined when five years of age, receiving bap- 
tism by immersion at that time. 




VMAN RICE, a lifelong resident and 
a prosperous farmer of Belchertown, 
was born there, September 29, 
1812. His father, Horatio Rice, also a 
native of Belchertown, received a good com- 
mon-school education, and, adopting agricult- 
ure as an occupation, purchased a farm in his 
native town about the year 18 10. Here he 
resided for the remainder of his life. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



I \'> 



married Elizabeth Allen, daughter of Edward 
Allen, of Belchertown. The five children 
that blessed their union were: Almena, 
Lyman, Elvira, Horatio, and Marcus. His 
wife died on November 22, 1822; ami he- 
passed away in 1871, aged eighty-four years. 

Lyman Rice attended the public schools of 
his native town, where he became proficient 
in the common branches of study. He was 
reared to an agricultural life. Until he was 
twenty years old he resided at home, where he 
assisted his father upon the farm, thereby 
acquiring the practical knowledge necessary to 
make a successful farmer. He then purchased 
a small piece of property. Later he added to 
this until he hail a farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres. It is situated in the south- 
western part of the town. Under his wise 
management it has become very productive, 
and now yields him very satisfactory returns 
for his outlay. 

Mr. Rice has been twice married. His 
first wife, whose maiden name- was Nancy 
Bugbee, was a daughter of Nehimiah Bugbee. 
The ceremonv was performed November 2, 
1S37. By this union he had two children, as 
follows: Sarah E., born August 23, 1838, now 
the wife of Samuel Allen; and Jennie C, 
born August 23, 1840. His second wife, 
Sophia A. Rice before marriage, daughter of 
John and Jerusha Rice, of Springfield, also 
became the mother of two children: Edward 
Lyman and George Allen. Mr. and Mrs. 
Rice are members of the Congregational 
church. 




lHARLES HERBERT KELLOGG, 

junior member of the firm of Daniels 
«if - & Kellogg, grocers, of Northamp- 
ton, was born in 185S in the town of Hadley, 
son of Benjamin A. and Sarah (Moody) Kel- 
logg. Benjamin A. Kellogg, now a resident 



of Northampton, was born in Hadley in 1832, 
son of Charles Austin Kellogg, also a native 
of Hadley, who was burn in [803. Charles 
Austin Kellogg was a very prominent man of 
that town, in which he spent his entire life of 
fourscore years, being a prosperous farmer, a 
leader in public affairs, and an adherent of 
the Democratic party. He married Maria 
Augusta Cook, who died at the good old age 
of seventy-five years. The maternal grand- 
father of Mr. Kellogg, Alvin Moody, was also 
an influential citizen of this county, belong- 
ing to one of the oldest of the South Hadley 
families. 

Charles H. Kellogg was given every oppor- 
tunity for obtaining a substantial education, 
being a regular attendant at school until his 
eighteenth year. At this time he was sus- 
pended from school privileges on account of 
the misdemeanor of another pupil. He sub- 
sequently served an apprenticeship at plumb- 
ing in Northampton, and worked at that trade 
for four years. He then entered the employ- 
ment of Allan Clark and J. A. Ross as clerk 
in their grocery store, where he remained for 
seven years. At the end of that time, being 
familiar with the details of the business, he 
formed a partnership with Charles A. Daniels 
for carrying on a similar business, and bought 
out the firm of C. H. Boyden, since which he 
has been prominently identified with the mer- 
cantile interests of this city. 

Mr. Kellogg was united in marriage No- 
vember 9, 1S88, with Miss Ada M. Day, of 
this city, a graduate of the high school and 
the daughter of Luke Day, a prominent city 
official. Since their union they had one 
child, Mabel, who died in 1893, thirty-two 
months old. In all the walks of life Mr. 
Kellogg is esteemed by all who know him as 
an able and upright business man, a devoted 
husband, a kind neighbor, and a loyal friend. 



35° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



He is connected with the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and is a Master Mason. In 
politics he is a Republican, uniformly casting 
his vote for the candidates of that party. 



Y(3)TON. SAMUEL MILLS COOK, a 
r^H public-spirited, influential citizen of 
J-! 5 ' V. j Granby, was born in that town, No- 
vember I, 1822. He represents one of the 
most respected pioneer families of the dis- 
trict. His father, the late Deacon Perez 
Cook, who came in boyhood to Granby, was 
born in Hadley, married Hannah Clarke, a 
native of the town, bought a farm here, and 
was afterward identified with the best inter- 
ests of the place, occupying a prominent posi- 
tion among the town and county officials. 
He and. his wife lived to a venerable age, 
dying on the old homestead, now occupied by 
the subject of this sketch, successively, in 
1876 and 1879. Eight children were born to 
them, as follows: Henry, Hervey, and Henry 
(second), all of whom died in infancy; Sarah 
Louise, the first-born, now living in Minne- 
sota; Samuel Mills, of this sketch; Henry, 
who died at the age of twenty-one years; 
Angeline, formerly a teacher in Tennessee, 
now residing with her brother, Mr. S. M. 
Cook; and Hervey S., who also resides with 
Mr. Cook. 

Samuel Mills Cook, who acquired a good 
education in his youthful days, began the bat- 
tle of life at the early age of fifteen years, his 
culture, perseverance, and self-reliance being 
his chief endowments. At the age of sixteen 
years he was appointed a teacher in the dis- 
trict school at Belchertown, where he had 
taught but one term when he was promoted to 
the village school in the centre of the town. 
He spent a year here when, being desirous of 
advancing his own education, he entered the 



Belchertown Academy as a pupil teacher, 
under Mr. Joshua Pearl, at the same time 
availing of every opportunity to pursue his 
own studies. Then he taught with Mr. Pearl 
in the Warren Seminary for a time, subse- 
quently going from there to Chicopee, where 
he had charge of the grammar school for seven 
years. Mr. Cook was next professionally 
employed at Limestone Springs, S.C., where 
he taught mathematics and languages for a 
year. After this he abandoned teaching. He 
set out for St. Cloud, Minn., but stopped en 
route at Minneapolis — then a small village, 
containing but eight hundred souls — and for 
two years carried on a successful lumbering 
business. In 1S58 he came once more to 
Hampshire County, where, in addition to 
farming, he engaged in paper manufacturing 
as a member of the well-known firm of Taylor, 
Cook & Co., proprietors of a paper-mill in 
South Hadley. He subsequently received 
severe injuries in the mill, after which he 
returned to his present farm, where he is liv- 
ing practically retired from the activities of 
life. His estate is finely improved and amply 
supplied with substantial and well-arranged 
buildings and all the necessary machinery and 
implements for general farming conducted 
according to the most approved methods. He 
is also interested in the lumbering business, 
owning ten thousand acres of timbered and 
prairie land in Minnesota. 

On October 19, 1857, Mr. Cook was united 
in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Smith, a 
native of this county and daughter of Levi and 
Fanny (Hayes) Smith, the latter being a 
sister of ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes. 
Mr. Cook was elected in 1880 and re-elected 
in 1 88 1 to represent the county in the Senate. 
He has since been prominent in official life, 
serving his constituents with credit to himself 
and benefit to them. He has always taken an 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



35i 



active interest in the welfare of his native 
town and county. He has been Assessor, 
Selectman, was for thirty years chairman of 
the School Committee, and has held his pres- 
ent office of County Commissioner for fourteen 
years. Politically, he is an earnest supporter 
of the principles of the Republican party and 
one of its most influential members. He is a 
Trustee of the Northampton Institution for 
Savings, and was one of the first Directors of 
the bank at South Hadley Falls. Relig- 
iously, both Mr. and Mrs. Cook are valued 
members of the Congregational church of 
Granby. 




STEPHEN H. RHODES, a veteran 

of the Civil War, who is now a 
prosperous resident and an exten- 
sive real estate owner of Pelham, was born in 
that town, June 14, 1836, son of Joel and 
Lucy (Allen) Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes's father, 
who was the son of Zebulon Rhodes, was born 
in Leyden, Mass., and was employed in lum- 
bering. He also worked at the carpenter's 
trade, which he followed for a greater part of 
his active period. He settled in Pelham, 
where he resided for the remainder of his life, 
and died July 6, 1864. His wife, Lucy 
Allen, who was born in Pelham, became the 
mother of nine children, four sons and five 
daughters. Of these four are now living, 
namely: Caroline, widow of Nelson Horr, of 
Enfield; Nancy, widow of Lorin Woods, of 
Enfield; Stephen H., the subject of this 
sketch, who is the eldest son ; and John, a 
resident of Enfield. The mother died in 
1 891. 

Stephen H. Rhodes was educated in the 
district schools of his native town; and, after 
completing his education, he learned the 
carpenter's trade. When a young man, he 
started as a carpenter and builder upon his 



own account; and that has been his principal 
business through life. In 1861 he enlisted as 
a private in Company C, Thirty-first Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts Volunteers. He partici- 
pated in several important battles of the Civil 
War, receiving injuries from the effects of 
which he has never fully recovered. He was 
honorably discharged in May, 1864, and, re- 
turning to Pelham, resumed his former occu- 
pations, which he has followed since. For 
the thrift and industry he has practised he 
now can show his large farm in Pelham of 
four hundred acres, besides valuable real 
estate in Amherst and Holyoke. 

In March, 1874, Mr. Rhodes was united in 
marriage to Lizzie Benjamin. She was born 
in Pelham, daughter of Peter and Lorisa Ben- 
jamin, the former of whom is no longer 
living. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes had seven chil- 
dren, one of whom died in infancy. The 
others are: Bertie A., Joseph E., Mertie E., 
Edward H., Nina L., and Alice C. The 
mother died June 22, 1885. Mr. Rhodes is 
independent in politics and liberal in his 
religious views. 




HAUNCEY H. PIERCE, a prominent 
insurance agent and real estate dealer 
of Northampton, was born in Am- 
herst, Mass., May 16, 1848, son of Chauncey 
and Florilla Cooley Pierce. Some of the best 
blood of the early Puritans of New England 
courses through his veins. He is a descend- 
ant of John Pers, a weaver, who emigrated 
from England in 1654, and settled in Water- 
town, Mass. 

Chauncey Pierce, father of Mr. Pierce, was 
a native of Amherst, horn in 1816. He was 
a well-known carriage-maker, and died in 
1849. His wife, who was a native ol Sunder- 
land, bore her husband tour children, as fol- 



35 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



lows: Jane VV. , who died when thirteen years 
old; Edwin H., who married, located in 
Springfield, and died in 1886, aged forty-five 
years; Ellen M., the wife of Ira A. Harvey, 
of Northampton; and Chauncey H., the sub- 
ject of this article, and with whom the 
mother, a bright and intelligent woman of 
eighty-eight years, makes her home. 

Chauncey H. Pierce began his career as a 
self-supporting member of society when 
twelve years old, entering Marsh's book store 
as a clerk, and remaining five years. He was 
next employed as a salesman in Merritt 
Clark's clothing store, and was afterward en- 
gaged in the insurance office of Allen & Pratt 
for six months. Becoming familiar with the 
insurance business, he became general agent 
for the Union Mutual Life Insurance Com- 
pany, giving his entire attention to that busi- 
ness for a year. Mr. Pierce was then offered 
by A. Perry Peck a half-interest in his fire 
insurance agency, which he accepted. They 
began business in 1871, under the firm name 
of Peck & Pierce. After ten years Mr. Peck 
retired, leaving Mr. Pierce to conduct the 
business alone. Mr. Pierce has dealt exten- 
sively in mortgages, besides being largely 
interested in various monetary enterprises. 
With A. McCallum he organized the North- 
ampton Electric Light Company, and for sev- 
eral years was its Manager and Treasurer. 
He holds the office of Treasurer still. He is 
also one of the Directors of the Northampton 
National Bank, a Trustee of the Academy of 
Music, was a member of the last Board of Se- 
lectmen of the old town, a President of the 
Common Council of the new city for three 
years, and is now one of the Committee of 
Trust Funds. 

Mr. Pierce was married October 13, 1870, 
to Isabella D. Lewis, of this city, a daughter 
of Lucius and Arabella (Warner) Lewis, both 



natives of Suffield, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. 
Pierce have two children: Mabel A., born 
October 16, 1872, who is an accomplished 
pianist, having graduated under the private 
instruction of the eminent Professor Blodgett; 
and Alvin L., born January 15, 1880, who is 
a pupil of Williston Seminary. Mr. Pierce 
has gained a high standing in the community. 




ILLIAM E. SMITH, a prominent 
contractor and builder of Amherst 
and chairman of the Board of Se- 
lectmen, was born in New Salem, Mass., 
April 17, 1836, son of Nathan and Lydia 
(Merriman) Smith. Mr. Smith's ancestors 
figured prominently in early Colonial history. 
His grandfather, Bradwyl Smith, was born in 
the vicinity of Boston, ami was a blacksmith 
by trade. He became an early settler in New 
Salem, where he owned a farm, and followed 
agriculture in connection with his trade until 
his death, which occurred when he was 
ninety-one years old. He raised a family of 
five sons and three daughters. 

Nathan Smith, Mr. Smith's father, was 
born in New Salem, where he was a prosper- 
ous farmer for many years. He moved to the 
town of Gill, where he resided for a number 
of years, and died in Clinton, Mass., aged 
eighty-four. Nathan Smith during his earlier 
years was a Democrat in politics. His wife, 
Lydia Merriman before marriage, who was 
born in Northfield, June 10, 1809, became the 
mother of three children, as follows: William 
E., the subject of this sketch; Maria R., wife 
of Frank E. Field, of Clinton; and Nathan 
W., a resident of Miller's Falls, Mass. The 
mother, who still survives, resides in Clinton. 
Mr. Smith's parents became members of the 
Universalist church. 

William E. Smith passed his boyhood in 




MERITT F. SAMPSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



35 S 



Gill and Bernardston, and was educated at the 
Goodell Academy. He taught school for a 
time, and then went to Greenfield, where he 
learned the trade of a carpenter. After work- 
ing as a journeyman for some time, he became 
a master builder, taking contracts and erect- 
ing many buildings in different sections of 
the Connecticut valley. In 1862 he located 
in Amherst, where he has since conducted a 
large and successful business. Mr. Smith is 
independent in politics. He is at the present 
time chairman of the Board of Selectmen, in 
which capacity he is serving his second term, 
is chairman of the Board of Health, and has 
been Assessor for the past five years. 

On November 13, 1861, Mr. Smith was 
united in marriage to his first wife, whose 
maiden name was Sarah E. Hyde, and by this 
union he has three daughters, namely: Minnie 
H. and Alice M., who are married; and Eliz- 
abeth S. Mr. Smith's first wife died in 1S78. 
On January 29, 1895, he wedded for his sec- 
ond wife Mrs. Ellen M. Howes, formerly 
Miss Draper, widow of Charles O. Howes, 
late of Amherst. Mr. Smith has reached his 
present position of prosperity by close appli- 
cation to every detail of his business. His 
quiet, unassuming, yet straightforward, manner 
has won the confidence of all who know him; 
and he is looked upon by his fellow-townsmen 
with the highest respect and esteem. Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith attend the Congregational church. 




ERITT F. SAMPSON, a highly 
esteemed citizen of Hatfield, 
Alasv, a successful agriculturist, 
is a native of Vermont, having been born in 
the town of Stamford of that State, June 25, 
■1846. He is a son of Chester and Rhoda A. 
(Nash) Sampson, and a grandson of Calvin 
and Poll\- (Millard) Sampson. 



The Sampson family are of English origin, 
their first representatives in America having 
been among the early Plymouth colonists. 
Henry Sampson came over in the "Mayflower" 
in 1620. His brother Abraham, ancestor of 
the branch now being considered, is recorded 
as living in Duxbury, Mass., in 1643. Isaai , 
a descendant, who was born in Plympton and 
who served in the French and Indian War, 
settled in Middleboro, Mass., where his son 
Jacob was born in 1760. At twenty years of 
age Jacob Sampson went to New Salem, Mass., 
but later removed to Stamford, \"t., and there 
purchased a large tract of wild land. He died 
in 1842, eighty-two years of age. Calvin 
Sampson, son of Jacob, was born in New 



Salem on Mi 



II, I/83. He went with 



parents to Vermont, where his life was spent 
in farming. When twenty-two years of age 
he was united in marriage with Miss Polly 
Millard, and they had three sons and two 
daughters; namely, Thankful, Chauncev, 
Chester, Almira, and Calvin T. 

Chester Sampson, the father of Meritt I-'. 
Sampson, was born in Stamford, Vt. He was 
brought up on the home farm, and engaged in 
agricultural labors in his native State until 
1848. He then removed to Williamstown, 
Mass., and purchased a farm on which he lived 
for ten years. From that place he went to 
North Adams, where he became interested in 
gardening. He died on May 29, 1878, when 
sixty-one years of age. His wife's death 1 - 
curred 011 February 16, 1885, in her sixty- 
fourth year. She left three children; namely, 
Mary, Meritt F. , and Carrie. Their father 
was a Republican in politics, and he was a 
member of the Baptist church. 

Meritt F. Sampson received a good practical 
education in the schools of Williamstown and 
North Adams. When a young man he went 
to work in a shoe factory. But as the con 



3S 6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



finement indoors proved detrimental to his 
health, he gave up that occupation and en- 
gaged in the more heathful vocation of farm- 
ing. In 1863 he enlisted in the Fourth Regi- 
ment of Massachusetts Cavalry, in which he 
had served two years, when he was mustered 
out of service in December, 1865. He then 
re-enlisted in Company D of the Nineteenth 
United States Infantry Regiment, and served 
in the regular army, being stationed the 
greater part of the time at Pine Bluffs, Ark., 
until honorably discharged on May 3, 1869. 
In 1893 he came to Hatfield, Mass., and pur- 
chased the place of M. Billings on Main 
Street. He has made extensive alterations in 
it since, and now it is one of the finest resi- 
dences in the village. He also owns about 
twenty-two acres of choice meadow land. 

Mr. Sampson was married October 22, 1878, 
to Miss Isadore H. Kenney, a daughter of 
Lorenzo and Maria Kenney, of Greenfield. 
Their union has been blessed by two daugh- 
ters, namely: Mary A., whose birth occurred 
on their wedding anniversary, October 22, 
[882; and Bessie S., who was born May 15, 
1886. Mr. Sampson is numbered among the 
loyal adherents of the Republican party. He 
is a member of the C. L. Sanford Post, No. 
79, Grand Army of the Republic, of North 
Adams. On religious questions he holds lib- 
eral views. 

A portrait of this representative citizen of 
Hampshire County will be seen on a neighbor- 
ing page. 

ALTER H. THAYER, an exten- 
sive and eminently successful hard- 
ware manufacturer of Williamsburg, 
Mass., was born there on September 5, 1862, 
son of William E. and Harriet E. (Dickinson) 
Thayer. 

William E. Thayer's birth took place in 




Peru, Berkshire County, on October 11, 1816. 
His parents were Eliphalet and Mary (Sears) 
Thayer, the former of whom was a son of 
Oliver Thayer, and was born in Braintree, 
Mass., in 1776. When Eliphalet was a child 
his parents moved to the northern part of the 
town of Williamsburg, where they purchased a 
farm, which is now owned by A. W. Alexan- 
der. The son also followed the life of an 
agriculturist. He married Miss Mary Sears, a 
descendant of one of the first families of 
Ashfield ; and both lived to a good age. His 
death occurred in 1840, when sixty-four years 
of age. Seven of the ten children born to 
them grew to maturity, and were: Marietta, 
Rhoda, Ezra, Williston, Louisa, Roland, and 
William E. At the age of twelve years Will- 
iam E. Thayer came from Peru to Williams- 
burg to work as a clerk in the store of his 
brothers, Ezra and Williston Thayer. Later 
on he travelled for about five years selling 
clocks, after which he entered into partnership 
with his brother Ezra in the manufacture of 
steel pens, to which they afterward added the 
manufacture of hardware, kitchen utensils, and 
furniture. In 1856 they separated, he taking 
the hardware branch of the business to the old 
stand that had previously been used as a button 
and buckle manufactory, and which, with its 
water-power, he had purchased of D. W. 
Graves. Five years later he took down the old 
buildings and erected the present structures, 
together with tenement-houses and other nec- 
essary buildings. The factory gives employ- 
ment to twenty- five men, and its products won 
for its proprietor a reputation throughout the 
New England and the Western States of a 
first-class manufacturer. In addition to his 
factory he conducted a large general store, 
which received a large share of the patronage 
of the surrounding country. About 1842 he 
bought the fine brick house on Main Street 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



357 



built by his brother Ezra. In his political re- 
lations he was a Republican; and he served 
nmst acceptably as a Selectman of the town. 
He contributed largely toward the support ol 
the Congregational church, and was in all 
walks of life a man win mi to know was to re- 
spect. On October 20, 1S40, he was joined 
in marriage with Miss Maria H. Dickinson, 
of Saybrook, Conn. Three of the five children 
born to them grew to maturity; namely, Fred- 
erick \V. , .Alice M., and George D. Their 
mother died on August 14, 1859. On Decem- 
ber 25, i860, Mr. Thayer was again married, 
this time to Miss Harriet E. Dickinson, of 
Saybrook, Conn., a daughter of Captain John 
Dickinson, who followed the sea in his early 
life, but spent his last years on a farm. Three 
children were the fruit of this second mar- 
riage; namely, Walter H., Edith E., and H. 
Winifred. The latter is the wife of E. C. 
Clark, who is engaged in the insurance and 
real estate business at Northampton and Hol- 
yoke, Mass. Mr. Thayer died in 1893, and 
his widow now occupies the old homestead. 

Walter H. Thayer received a good practical 
education in the schools of Williamsburg and 
at the academies of Easthampton, Mass., and 
Cheshire, Conn. He also took a business 
course at the Bryant & Stratton Business 
College in Manchester, N.H., where he gradu- 
ated in 1 88 1. He then went into his father's 
store as a general assistant, and travelled as 
a representative of the manufacturing depart- 
ment of the business a portion of the time. 
At his father's death he took full charge of the 
factory, put in new machinery, and made vari- 
ous other improvements. He has met with 
much success; and, though a young man, he 
ranks among the leading business men and 
manufacturers of the State. 

Mr. Thayer casts his vote with the Repub- 
lican party. He is connected with several fra- 



ternal organizations, among which may be 
mentioned the Hampshire Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M., the Northampton Chapter of Royal 
Arch Masons, ami the Northampton Com- 
mandery of Knights Templars. He is also 
a member of the Ancient < >rder of United 
Workmen. In his religious views he is 
liberal. 



-yvHINEAS PENDLETON NICHOLS, 
D. D. S. , a popular and promising 

young dentist of the city of North- 
ampton, was born April 19, i860, in the town 
of Searsport, Me. The family are of English 
origin. The American ancestors, having emi- 
grated to the United States, were early settlers 
on the coast of Maine. James Nichols, the 
great-grandfather of Dr. Nichols, was born in 
Searsport in 1733. and there spent his entire 
life. Ship-building was then in its infancy; 
and he became interested in the trade, finally 
adopting it as his life occupation. He was 
one of the founders of this industry in Maine. 

William Nichols, the grandfather of the 
Doctor, was a well-known ship-builder of 
Searsport. His union in 1802 with Nancy 
Pendleton, a daughter of Alexander Pendleton, 
strengthened the tie between two of the most 
prominent families of that town. They reared 
five sons and three daughters, of whom Will- 
iam G. Nichols became the father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch. 

William G. Nichols was born in Searsport, 
April 5, 1833, and has since continued a resi- 
dent of the place of his nativity, becoming one 
of its most respected and esteemed citizens. 
On September 2S, 1857, he was united in mar- 
riage to Lillias Pendleton, a daughter of Cap- 
tain Phineas and Wealthy (Carver) Pendleton. 
The Carvers are lineally descended from Sir 
John Carver, who was fust Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, his descendants having located on the 



5S« 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Penobscot at an early day. The Carvers, 
Nicholses, Pendletons, and Griffins are very 
prominent in business and marine circles, 
being sea captains or ship builders. It is 
claimed they captain and control one-tenth of 
all the deep sea ships of the United States. 

Dr. Nichols is one of two children born to 
his parents. The other child, a daughter, 
died in infancy. Ample opportunity was 
afforded him for obtaining an education, and 
after leaving Williston Seminary he was gradu- 
ated from the Philadelphia Dental College in 
1 88 1. He began the practice of his profession 
in the place of his nativity, and during the 
eight years he remained there he met with flat- 
tering success. Desiring a more extended 
field Dr. Nichols came to Northampton in 
1891, and formed a partnership with Dr. R. D. 
Brown. Three years later he bought out Dr. 
Brown's interest, and has since carried on the 
business independently. Dr. Nichols's prac- 
tice is large and lucrative. He has earned a 
high reputation for skilful work. 

On the 28th of January, 1891, Dr. Nichols 
was united in marriage with Maud McCready, 
a daughter of J. E. B. ami Maud (Frieze) 
McCready, of St. John, N. B. , where her 
father is well known as the editor of the 
St. John Telegram. Mrs. McCready died in 
early life, leaving two children, Mrs. Nichols 
and a son, P^raest W. McCready, who is on the 
editorial staff of the New York Herald. The 
only child born to the Doctor and his wife is a 
little daughter, Lillias Louine, born in 1895. 
Like her husband, Mrs. Nichols is finely edu- 
cated, being a college graduate, and is the pos- 
sessor of much artistic talent and taste. In 
politics the Doctor is a stanch Republican. 
He is a Knight Templar, and quite prominent 
in Masonic life, having joined that organiza- 
tion when twenty-one years old. He takes an 
intelligent interest in everything pertaining to 



the progress of the city or county, and is held 
in high regard in business and social circles. 
In the spring of 1895 he purchased his elegant 
residence on Elm Street, which is one of the 
finest in the vicinity. 




LANSON WELLS STACY, a large 
land-owner of Belchertown, was born 
upon the farm where he now resides, 
May 29, 18 [8. His father, Alanson Stacy, 
who was born in the same town, was a son of 
Mark Stacy, also a native of Belchertown, 
where his father, Moses Stacy, was, in all 
probability, a lifelong resident and a farmer. 
Mark Stacy, who married Julia Root, was also 
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He passed 
his entire life upon his farm, which was situ- 
ated in the locality known as Turkey Hill, 
where his three sons and three daughters were 
born. Alanson Stacy at the age of fourteen 
years went to reside in the family of Phineas 
B. Clark, a well-to-do farmer of the neighbor- 
hood, who had no children of his own. At 
the death of Mr. Clark, Alanson inherited the 
farm and resided there until his death, at the 
advanced age of eighty-eight years. His wife, 
whose maiden name was Delia Kelley, died at 
the same age as her husband, having been the 
mother of three children, of whom Mr. A. W. 
Stacy of this article is the only son. 

Alanson Wells Stacy, subsequent to reach- 
ing his majority, was associated with his 
father for some years in carrying on the farm. 
He then became a resident of Springfield, 
where for a period of twelve years he was very 
successful in business. He then returned to 
Belchertown, having succeeded to the owner- 
ship of his father's property. This he has 
since increased so that at the present time he 
possesses over eight hundred acres of exceed- 
ingly valuable land. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



359 



Mr. Stacy has been twice married. < In the 
first occasion, which was in 1839, he was 
united td Eunice M. Kendall, of Ludlow, 
daughter of Selah and Betsey Kendall. She 
died in 1S65. His second marriage, per- 
formed in 1869, was with Adeline Emma 
Barnes, of Hardwick, Mass., daughter of Har- 
vey Barnes, a farmer of that town. Eli 
Barnes, father of Harvey Barnes, also followed 
agriculture, and was, so far as known, a life- 
long resident of Hardwick. Harvey Barnes, 
who was reared to farm life, went to Boston 
when a young man, making the journey on 
foot and carrying all of his worldly possessions 
tied up in a handkerchief. II' soon gained 
a footing in business, and, being very indus- 
trious, was able to advance rapidly. He 
embarked in a livery enterprise, which he suc- 
cessfully conducted for a period of ten years. 
Then disposing of it he returned to his na- 
tive town and purchased the old homestead, 
where he subsequently resided for many years. 
He passed the last three years of his life in 
Brookfield, where he died at the age of eighty- 
three years. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Harriet Gragg, a native of Boston, died 
at the age of seventy-six. She bore him four- 
teen children, eleven of whom grew to matu- 
rity. By his first marriage Mr. Stacy had one 
daughter, who died at the age of twenty years. 
His present wife has borne him two children; 
namely, Avery Wells and Delia Estella. He 
has been a lifelong Democrat, but pressure of 
business has always withheld him from taking 
any prominent part in politics. He. however, 
served his fellow-townsmen one year as chair- 
man of the Board of Selectmen, and at its con- 
clusion informed them that he would present 
the town with the amount due him for his ser- 
vices on condition that he should never again 
be called into public affairs. 

Mr. Stacy has had an eminently successful 



career, attributable chiefly to his energy and 
his industry. He is reckoned among the 
wealthiest residents of Belchertown. Al- 
though Hearing his fourscore years, he is still 
vigorous and active. He has a commanding- 
appearance, stands five feet nine inches in 
height, and has weighed two hundred and forty 
pounds. 

f ^TeORGE WILLIAM HUBBARD, 
Vj5| M.D., a practising physician of 
South Hadley, was born in Hatfield, 
Mass., June 22. 1870, son of Charles E. and 
Julia I".. (Dayton) Hubbard. Dr. Hubbard's 
father was a young man at the breaking out of 
the Civil War, and he enlisted in the Thirty- 
seventh Regiment. Massachusetts Volunteer 
Infantry, with which he served until mustered 
out, participating in several important engage- 
ments. After the war he visited the West, 
where he remained for a time. He then re- 
turned to Hatfield and purchased a farm, con- 
sisting of one hundred and fifty acres, which 
he has improved to a considerable extent. He 
is now busily and successfully engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits, making a specialty of tob 
culture. Charles E. Hubbard's wife was a 
native of Northampton. George William is 
their only son. 

George William Hubbard commenced hi^ 
education in the public schools. He subse- 
quently attended Smith .Academy, from which 
he graduated in 1889, having won the first 
prize in oratory. He then studied medicine 
for one year with Dr. Fay, of Northampton, 
at the expiration of which time he entered the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons in Balti- 
more, Md. After a three years' course in this 
institution he graduated with the class of 
1894, and then spent some time in the Balti- 
more City Hospital. .After this he returned 
to Hatfield, and a few weeks later began the 



3 6 ° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



practice of his profession in South Hadley. 
Since establishing himself in his present field 
of usefulness Dr. Hubbard has succeeded in 
acquiring a large and lucrative practice, and 
has won the respect and hearty good-will of 
his fellow-townsmen. He is a member and 
medical examiner of Lodge No. 2657, Knights 
of Honor, of South Hadley, and also a mem- 
ber of the medical staff at the Holyoke City 
Hospital. He is a member of the Congrega- 
tional church ; and, while a Republican in poli- 
tics, he takes no particular interest in political 
affairs beyond casting his vote. 



I LIAS RUDE, a prosperous farmer of 
Huntington, was born in that town, 
November 29, 1834, son of Zara and 
Elizabeth (Patch) Rude. Mr. Rude's great- 
grandfather, John Rude, was a native of Nor- 
wich, Conn., and settled in Huntington, 
Mass., when there were but three houses in 
the town. He cleared and improved the farm, 
which is now owned and occupied by his great- 
grandson, and successfully followed agriculture 
until his death. He raised a family of three 
children, of whom John Rude, Jr., was Mr. 
Rude's grandfather. Grandfather Rude was 
born in Norwich, Conn., succeeded to the pos- 
session of the farm, and resided there until his 
death, which occurred in 1 S48. He was the 
father of seven children, as follows: Zara, 
Alvin, Clara, Elias, Harvey, Esula, and Nor- 
man. 

Zara Rude, Mr. Rude's father, was born in 
Huntington and reared to agriculture, which 
he followed successfully through life. He was 
a Whig in politics, was highly esteemed, and 
was very popular with his fellow-townsmen. 
He died at the age of seventy-four years. His 
wife, who was a native of Huntington, be- 
came the mother of twelve children, of whom 



Elias Rude is the sole survivor. They were 
as follows: Thomas, who married Miranda 
Demon; John, who married Maria Holmes; 
Lucy, who became the wife of James Steven- 
son ; Eliza, who married Ora Miller; Jerome, 
Lydia, and Electa, who died young; Nancy, 
who died at the age of twenty-two; Electa 
(second), who died at the age of twenty; Ora, 
who died aged twenty-four; Weltha, who died 
aged eighteen; and Elias, the subject of this 
sketch. The mother died in Huntington. 

Elias Rude succeeded his father in the 
ownership of the old homestead, and has since 
resided there. He carries on general farming 
and dairying, and is engaged to a considerable 
extent in the manufacture of maple sugar. On 
December 14, 1857, Mr. Rude was united in 
marriage to Nancy A. Merritt. She was born 
in Conway, Mass., November 3, 1833, daugh- 
ter of Austin Merritt, a prosperous farmer of 
that town. In politics Mr. Rude has always 
supported the Republican party. 



ARTHUR WAINWRIGHT, a rising 
young lawyer of Northampton and a 
member of the law firm of Hill & 
Wainwright, is a New Yorker by birth, having 
been born in Fairport, Monroe County, N. Y. , 
December 17, 1859, where his father, William 
C. Scott, was engaged in farming. His 
mother was before marriage Miss Mary Ann 
W'oodin, and he was the youngest of the seven 
children born of her union. She died in mid- 
dle life, leaving her infant son when but a 
week old. His father again married, and his 
second wife had one child. He was about 
forty years of age when he died, leaving his 
family in humble circumstances. 

His paternal grandfather, John Scott, of 
Monroe County, was well known in that sec- 
tion through his profession of civil engineer. 




AUSTIN ROSS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



363 



He did a large amount of surveying in that 
vicinity, and was often called upon to settle 
disputed boundaries. His vocation seems to 
have been conducive to longevity, for he lived 
to be an octogenarian. Mr. Wainwright's 
maternal grandfather, Henry Woodin, spent 
his early life in Orleans, X. Y. , whence he 
afterward removed to Birmingham, Mich. 
Here he engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
which had been his occupation in Xew York. 
He served as a soldier in the War of 1812; 
and his father, Amos Woodin, served for six 
months in the Revolutionary War, during 
which brief time he was promoted from the 
ranks to the office of sergeant. 

At his mother's death J. Arthur Wain- 
wright was adopted by a maternal aunt, Louisa 
Wainwright, the widow of Horatio Wain- 
wright, who reared him from his mother's 
death. She is still living in Easthampton. 
He attended school in Orleans, N.Y., until he 
was twelve years of age. On April 1, 1872, 
the following year, he came with his adopted 
mother and sister to Easthampton. He then 
entered Williston Seminary, from which he 
graduated in 1875. In the fall of that year he 
entered Amherst College, completing his 
course with honors in the class of 1879, being 
in the first third of the class. While in col- 
lege he became a member of the Phi Beta 
Kappa Society. He next read law under 
Judge Bassett. In 1882 he graduated from 
the Boston University, and in June of that 
year he was admitted to the bar in Northamp- 
ton. The succeeding year he spent in the 
West on the Pacific Coast and in the vicinity 
of Puget Sound. Returning to Northampton 
he engaged in the practice of his profession 
with David Hill, forming the present firm of 
Hill & Wainwright. They do a large fire in- 
surance business, representing a half-dozen 
companies at their Northampton office. Some 



time ago they had an agency at Easthampton, 
which they subsequently disposed of. 

Mr. Wainwright is a Democrat in his poli- 
tics. He is a member of the Nonotuck Lodge, 
No. 61, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in 
which he has passed the chairs; of the Mary 
Lyon Lodge, No. 62, Daughters of Rebecca; 
of Mount Holyoke Encampment, No. 16; of 
Canton Meadow City, No. 29; of Knights of 
Honor, Norwood Lodge, No. 3343, in which he 
holds the official position of D. D. G. D. 
He was Major on the staff of George E. Am- 
idon of the Brigade of the East, and is now- 
serving as Aide-de-camp on the staff of Frank 
M. Merrill, Department Commander of Massa- 
chusetts. Mr. Wainwright is a communicant 
of Edwards Congregational Church, in which 
he is one of the committee on notices. 



tUSTIX 
prospe 
>^ ret ir 



ROSS, of Florence, Mass., a 
prosperous farmer now living in restful 
irement after many seasons of 
sowing and reaping, is one of the few remain- 
ing members of the famous "community " of 
fifty years ago. He was born at Mansfield, 
Tolland Count}', Conn., in 1812, and passed 
his early boyhood in Windham County in that 
State. His father, Elnathan Ross, who was 
horn at Chaplin, in the above-named county 
and State in 1771. died of an epidemic fever 
in 1S13, leaving a widow and eleven children, 
Austin being then but one year old. His 
wife, whose maiden name was (Hive Storrs, 
and who was of a prominent family in the Con- 
necticut valley, returned to the homestead of 
her father and cared for him until his decease, 
which occurred at the age of ninety-seven. 
Airs. Olive S. Ross lived to the age of ninety- 
two years. Her children, who were distrib- 
uted among strangers, all grew to maturity 
and became heads of families. With the ex- 



364 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ception of Austin Ross, all are now at rest. 
Harriet, wife of George Hunt, a farmer of 
Yates County, New York, reared one son, and 
died at the age of nearly fourscore years; and 
Caroline, who was born previous to Austin, 
and became the wife of George Wyman, of 
Potter, Yates County, reared a family of thir- 
teen children, and died at the age of about 
seventy years. 

Austin Ross was practically thrown upon 
his resources at the age of ten years, but con- 
tinued to make his home among his brothers 
and sisters until reaching the age of fifteen, 
when he went to live with Deacon Knight, a 
rigid Presbyterian, from whom he acquired 
the shoemaker's trade, an occupation which 
he followed for a number of years at Chaplin. 
In 1834, when he was twenty-two years of 
age, he married Miss Fidelia Rindge, who was 
born in Chaplin, Conn., in t S 1 3. They came 
to Florence early in 1845, and entered the 
"community " founded in 1842 by the "North- 
ampton Association of Education and Indus- 
try," Mr. Ross assuming charge of the agri- 
cultural department. An intelligent, liberal- 
minded, progressive class of people were drawn 
hither, including some prominent abolitionists. 
Mr. Ross, who had been dismissed from the 
Presbyterian church on account of his anti- 
slavery sentiments, is credited in the history 
of those times with having been a successful 
station agent on the "underground railroad." 
The community at Florence lasted only about 
four years. When it disbanded, Mr. Ross, in 
company with his uncle Abel Ross and J. C. 
Martin, purchased the farm for the sum of 
five thousand dollars, his portion consisting 
of about one hundred and fifty acres of the 
original four hundred. This he continued to 
cultivate with extremely profitable results; 
and, having in the course of time added to 
his estate, he now owns two hundred acres 



of valuable land, which is divided into two 
farms. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ross have buried an infant 
son. Their living children are: E. S. Ross, 
a merchant of Leeds, having two children; 
D wight A. Ross, who resides upon his 
father's farm and has two sons and one daugh- 
ter; and Martha Jane, wife of Robert M. 
Branch, a merchant of Florence, having two 
children. Mr. Ross retired from active labor 
in 1890, leaving the farm in charge of his son, 
and now lives at his pleasant home, which is 
situated upon the opposite side of Mill River. 
He is a Republican in politics, but was never 
an aspirant for public office. Well known ami 
highly esteemed, he occupies a warm place in 
the hearts of the older residents of Florence. 

On another page is given a portrait of this 
venerable citizen. Long years hence shall it 
be told for a memorial of him that he was wont 
to succor the distressed, that he helped to 
break the oppressor's yoke and set the captive- 
free. 



KRANK H. N. GATES, overseer in 
the knitting department of the Otis 
Mill at Ware, Mass., was born where 
he now resides on July 26, 185S, son of Daniel 
and Sarah (Bullen) Gates, the former of whom 
was born in Barnard, Vt., in 1828. 

Foster S. Gates, a descendant of an old New 
England family, and the grandfather of the 
subject of this biography, was also a native of 
Barnard, Yt, where his birth occurred in 1800. 
He followed the calling of an agriculturist, in 
which he met with a fair degree of success. 

He married Miss Betsey McCormack, who 
was of Scottish ancestry; and they reared a 
family of two sons and three daughters, but all 
have since passed away. He died in 1884, 
twelve years after his wife's death, which oc- 
curred when she was seventy-six years of age. 




F. H. N. GATES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



367 



Daniel Gates, whose early years were spent 
on his father's farm in Barnard, Vt. , re- 
moved in early manhood to Ware, Mass., 
where he secured employment in the Otis 
Mills. He rose rapidly to the position of 
overseer of the finishing department of the 
cloth mill; and, shortly after the hosiery de- 
partment was started, he was made overseer in 
the knitting-room, and was employed there for 
twenty-three years, making in all forty-six 
years with the Otis Company. He was a 
member of the Masonic Council, and a com- 
municant of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
His connection with the latter lasted many 
years, and during a portion of that time he 
held the offices of Steward and Trustee. He 
died in 18S9, sixty-one years of age. His 
wife, who was born in Waldo, Me., is a 
daughter of Samuel and Margaret (West) 
Bullen, both of whom were natives of Maine, 
his birth occurring in Farmington and hers in 
Belfast. They reared two sons and three 
daughters. Two are now living; namely, 
Mis. Gates and her sister, Mrs. Margaret 
G. Marsh, residing in Maiden, Mass. Mrs. 
Gates bore her husband five children, as fol- 
lows : a daughter Bessie, who died in infancy; 
Ida Belle, who lived to be seventeen years 
of age; Foster S. Gates, an engineer on the 
Connecticut River Railroad, who is married 
and has one son; Edith L. , the wile of A. D. 
Talbert, of Boston ; and Frank H. N. Gates. 

Frank H. N. Gates received a good com- 
mon-school education. When sixteen years of 
age he left the high school and went into the 
mill with his father. He afterward succeeded 
his father as overseer in the knitting depart- 
ment, a position that has been held by father 
and son for nearly the entire time since the 
hosiery business started. He was married 
when twenty-two years of age, on May 22, 
1SS0, to Miss Grace Esther Lamson, a daugh- 



ter of Irving T. and Augusta (Kinney) Lam- 
son, both of whom were born in Randolph, 
Vt. Her mother died in 1S74, leaving four 
sons and four daughters, all of whom are 
still living, except a son that died in infancy. 
Her father, who is a successful agriculturist, 
is living with his second wife in West 
Randolph, \"t. 

Mr. Gates and his wife are attendants at the 
Episcopal church. He is a member of Eden 
Lodge. A. F. & .\. M., of Ware; King Solo- 
mon Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; Warren 
and Northampton Commandery, Northampton, 
Mass. ; Ware Lodge of Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows; and Ware Rod and Gun Club. 
They reside at 34 Park Street, which has been 
his home since his birth. 



tEWIS A. CLARK, a widely known 
farmer of Huntington, was bom in 
_ ^^ Southampton, Mass., January 8, 
(839, son of Elisha and Minerva (Stearns) 
Clark. Mr. Clark's father was a native of 
Massachusetts, and followed at different times 
the occupations of farmer and cooper. He 
moved to Huntington in 1S65, where he was 
engaged in agriculture until his death, which 
occurred February 10, 1 869. He was a Whig 
in politics, but beyond casting his vote he took 
no active interest in public affairs. Elisha 
Clark's wife, who was born in Hinesburg, \*t., 
became the mother of six children, as follows: 
Mary, wife of Dexter Lyman, a resident of 
Huntington, Martha, deceased, who married 
for her first husband Thomas Wright and for 
her second Joshua Bemis; Sophronia, deceased. 
who married W. Graves; John L. , who married 
Julia Freeman, and is now a farmer in East- 
hampton, Mass.; Ellen L. , widow of Isaac 
Aver)'; and Lewis A., the subject of this 
sketch. The mother died April 6, 1891. 



3 68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Lewis A. Clark resided at home until his 
fourteenth year, when he began to support 
himself. At the age of seventeen he com- 
menced to learn the trade of a mason, and after 
working at that calling in Southampton and 
the West for five years he went to Easthamp- 
ton, where he labored as a journeyman for an- 
other five years. From Easthampton he went 
to Springfield, Mass., where he was employed 
at his trade for one year; and in 1869, when 
his father died, he went to Huntington to take 
charge of the home farm. He has since suc- 
cessfully carried on the farm, while continuing 
to work at his trade. He is independent in 
politics, and has served as a Selectman for 
eight consecutive years. 

On December 20, 1866, Mr. Clark was 
united in marriage to Hattie R. Howes, daugh- 
ter of Charles and Mary Howes. Mrs. Clark 
is a member of the Congregational church. 
They have one adopted son. 



■EDEDIAH POST WEBSTER, lately 
deceased, a prosperous farmer of En- 
field in his lifetime, was born in 
YVilbraham, Mass., on March 17, 1S11, son of 
Elijah and Martha (Chapin) Webster. 

His father, a native of Hebron, Conn., born 
in 1767, was a tanner by trade and followed 
that calling with success for many years. 
Toward the close of his life he turned his at- 
tention to agriculture, and purchased the farm 
owned by him at the time of his death. He 
died very suddenly of heart disease, on Decem- 
ber 22, 1849, eighty-two years of age. He 
was twice married. His first marriage was 
with Miss Deborah Post, and was performed 
March 27, 1797. She bore him four sons and 
a daughter. After her death he married Miss 
Martha Chapin, who was born October 2, 1779. 
They became the parents of eleven children, 



nine of whom have since died. The survivors 
are: Mrs. Marcy Edson, a widow residing at 
Jamaica Plain, Mass. ; and Miss Betsey Web- 
ster, living in Wilbra.ham, Mass. Their 
mother died October 20, 1852. 

Jedediah P. Webster, who received his edu- 
cation in the district school, remained with his 
father on the farm, and throughout the active 
period of his life successfully engaged in agri- 
culture. His farm, containing about two hun- 
dred acres, was left by him in an excellent 
condition. It lies partly in Enfield and partly 
in Ware. Mr. Webster died October 15, 
1895. At the age of twenty-six years he was 
married, on October 8, 1837, to Miss Diana 
Houghton, whose birth occurred in Union, 
Conn., June 17, 181 7. They took up their 
home on the farm on March 31, 1846. Their 
long and happy union of fifty-eight years was 
blessed by a son and a daughter. The elder 
of the two was Mary Jane, born October 19, 
1 841, who died August 12, 1887, nearly forty- 
six years of age. She left besides her husband, 
Joel W. Martinsdale, a son and six daughters, 
all of whom are now living and occasionally 
gather at the old homestead. They are as fol- 
lows : Florence L. , born in Hebron, Conn., 
January 17, 1865; William Webster Martin- 
dale, born in Hebron, Conn., September 16, 
1866; Susan Forbes, born April 28, 1870; 
Bertha Haughton, born November 18, .1872; 
Martha E., born September 26, 1874; Mary 
Diana, born October 13, 1875; and Alice 
Maria, born June 27, 1880. The last five are 
natives of Massachusetts. George Henry 
Webster, born in Enfield on July 3, 1846, 
was married on November 17, 1869, to Miss 
Louise Amelia Martindale, of Hebron, Conn. 
She died in Enfield, Mass., in 1884, leaving 
two sons and a daughter, namely : Edward M. 
Webster, born June 26, 1871 ; Jennie L. , born 
July 17, 1877, living in Ware; and Henry 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3f'9 



Chapin, born August 21, 1881, residing in 
Enfield. Her husband was again married on 
June 12, 1S86, in Springfield, Mass., to Miss 
Sarah Louise Miller, daughter of Edmund and 
Alicia Elizabeth (Bell) Miller. She was born 
in Kinderhook, Columbia County, N.Y., May 
22, 1863. The fruit of this second union was 
a son and daughter, namely : Susie Alicia, 
born May 30, 1887; and Theodore Miller 
Webster, born November 13, 1894. George 
Henry Webster was part owner of the farm, 
and had the whole management of it during 
the last few years of his father's life. He is 
prominent in town affairs, and is serving his 
second term of three years as Highway Com- 
missioner. He is now sole proprietor of the 
farm. 

In politics Jedediah P. Webster always cast 
his vote with the Republican party. He 
served as Highway Surveyor of Enfield, and 
for five successive years was a member of the 
School Committee. During his younger days 
he was appointed Ensign, and later Lieutenant 
of the Wilbraham militia. Both he and his 
wife were members of the Congregational 
church. His widow, who continues in union 
with the church, is an intellectual woman. It 
was she who furnished data for a genealogical 
work relating to the Webster family, pub- 
lished a few years ago, and to which we refer 
for a more extended account. She lives on 
the farm with her sod and his family. 




SA A. TODD, deceased, an esteemed 
resident of Chesterfield for nearly his 
entire lifetime, was born in that 
town, August 12, 1S20, son of Lyman and 
Sarah (Kinney) Todd, respectively natives of 
Chesterfield and Worthington. Lyman Todd 
died in November, 1846. He was the father 
of thirteen children, three of whom are now 



living. These are: Horace, who resides in 
Heath, Mass. ; Aurelia Frances, wife of Jo- 
seph Cudworth, of Worthington; and Effie 
Deliza, wife of Samuel Eddy, of Chesterfield. 
Lyman Todd's widow, now deceased, married 
Ouartus Rust, of New York, and spent the last 
years of her life in that State. 

Asa A. Todd received a common-school edu- 
cation. He was a man of many resources. 
He was for three years employed in a tannery, 
giving entire satisfaction to his employers. 
In 184" he engaged in general farming, in 
which he was also very successful. In that 
year he settled on the farm where his widow 
now resides; and, excepting one year spent 
with his family in Chesterfield, it was his 
home up to the time of his death. Mr. Todd 
was a good business man. He had the faculty 
of applying himself closely to whatever he un- 
dertook. In time he attained a comfortable 
degree of prosperity. His death occurred 
January 2^, 1S95. 

Mr. Todd was twice married. His first 
wife, Mary Cudworth, of Chesterfield, died 
nine months after marriage. Subsequently, on 
June 2, 1847, he was united to Ellen J. Cud- 
worth, a native of Chesterfield, born March 7, 
1829, daughter of Charles and Susanna 
1 Keith) Cudworth. The father was a native 
of Chesterfield, and the mother of Scituate, 
Mass. Mr. Cudworth, who was a farmer, is 
now deceased; and his wife also has passed 
away. Mr. and Mrs. Todd were the parents 
of seven children, namely: Isabelle, wife of 
Walter B. Trow, of Providence, R.I. ; Mary, 
who died some time since; Esther S., who 
also is deceased; Lyman, who married Mary 
I'ease, and lives in Worthington; Monroe, 
who now manages the homestead; Flora E., 
wife of William A. Trow, of Westfield; and 
Asa Augustus, likewise deceased. All the 
children were given a good education, their 



37° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



father fully realizing the advantage thereof. 
Monroe, who was born March 18, 1862, 
learned the mason's trade and followed the 
same for some years. After his father's death 
he took charge of the home farm, of which he 
is the present proprietor, his mother making 
her home with him. He is married, his 
wife's maiden name having been Letty L. 
Middlebrook. In politics Monroe Todd is in- 
dependent, voting for the candidate he con- 
siders best fitted to further the interests of the 
people. He is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, belonging to Huntington Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., of Huntington. He is carry- 
ing on the work begun by his father with satis- 
factory results. He also possesses the esteem 
in which his father was held. 




19 



EACON SIMEON KELLOGG, of 
Granby, whose portrait accompanies 
the present sketch, is an excellent 



representative of the intelligent and thrifty 
agriculturists of Hampshire County. He was 
born in this town on December 13, 1832. 
His father, David Kellogg, a native of Am- 
herst, came to Granby when a young man, and 
here bought a tract of land, from which he im- 
proved a good homestead property. In his 
later years he conducted a country hotel in the 
village. He was twice married, his first wife, 
Almira Barton, being a native of this place. 
She died, leaving four children, namely: 
Walter B.; Holland David, who died in New 
York in 1858; Mary C. ; and Almira M. 
His second wife, whose maiden name was 
Portia Preston, was born in Granby on Febru- 
ary 24, 1 801, and died here in 1849, he sur- 
viving her many years, dying in 1864. Of 
the second union nine children were born, as 
follows: Norris Preston, who died at the age 
of fifty years; Chester, who died in Spring- 



field in 1893; Simeon and an elder sister, 
Ellen, who makes her home with him; Henry, 
who married Carrie Bates, and resides in De- 
troit, Mich.; Mary, the wife of Dwight Pres- 
ton, living at Elkhorn, Wis.; Eliza, a resi- 
dent of Granby; Jennie Maria, who died in 
infancy; and Jennie M., second, wife of 
D. R. Barnes, of this town. 

Simeon Kellogg obtained his education in 
the public schools, and on attaining his major- 
ity began the battle of life for himself. 
Going to the city of New York, he worked for 
ten years as clerk and cashier in a hotel, being 
in the employ of two different proprietors in 
that period, and at its expiration returning to 
the place of his nativity. It was in 1863 that 
he came to Granby at the urgent solicitation 
of his father, who gave him the old home 
farm if he would continue its management. 
The estate contains about one hundred acres, 
in whose care and improvement Mr. Kellogg 
has shown excellent judgment, and has been 
unusually successful. 

Mr. Kellogg and Harriet Pease, a daughter 
of the late Peter Pease, a farmer of Granby, 
were married in 1868. Their union has been 
blessed by the birth of four children: Mary 
Eliza, Cora H., Effie L., and Edith J. All 
of these daughters are well educated, three 
being teachers in the public schools of 
Granby, and Effie L. assistant principal of 
the high school, Gorham, N.H. Mr. Kel- 
logg is an energetic and capable business man, 
and is amply endowed with qualities which 
constitute him a useful and valued citizen. 
For many years he has been a member of the 
local Grange, and likewise of the Good Tem- 
plars. He is a stanch adherent of the Repub- 
lican party in politics; and both he and Mrs. 
Kellogg are active in religious matters, being 
faithful members of the Congregational 
church, of which he is senior Deacon. 




SIMEON KELLOGG. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



373 




REN B. SMITH, a retired manufact- 
urer and an influential citizen of 
Northampton, was born in Kirby, Vt. , 
December 6, 1827, son of Thomas B. and Jane 
(Barron) Smith, the former of whom was born 
in Sturbridge, Mass., in 1792. 

His grandfather, who followed the calling of 
a farmer, removed from Sturbridge into the 
State of Vermont, where he settled on a tract 
of forest land. He died in middle life, leav- 
ing eight sons and two daughters. John 
Smith, the youngest son, became a Methodist 
preacher, and for some years was stationed at 
Lowell, Mass. Frank Smith was at one time 
a government surveyor in Illinois. Subse- 
quently he and another brother located in the 
State of Texas. Phillip Smith followed the 
trade of a cloth-dresser in Burke, Vt., where 
his life was spent. He celebrated his golden 
wedding in 1883, and, although then eighty- 
one years old, was strong and active both in 
mind and body. He died when about eighty- 
seven years of age. Thomas B. Smith, who 
chose the calling of a farmer, became epiite 
prosperous in time. His wife, Jane Barron 
Smith before marriage, to whom he was mar- 
ried in Vermont, was burn in Gilson, N.H., in 
1787. They had eight children, three sons 
and five daughters. All lived to maturity, 
married, and reared families; but Oren B. 
Smith and a sister, Florilla, the widow of 
Lewis McCrillis, residing at Brimfield, Mass., 
are the only survivors now. Leander served 
in the Civil War, enlisting from Palmer, 
Mass., and was no doubt killed in the service, 
as nothing has since been heard of him. The 
father died in Thorndike village, in the town 
of Palmer, in 1866; and the mother died in 
1869, eighty-two years of age. Their remains 
rest in the Palmer Four Corners burying- 
ground. 

Oren B. Smith began to work for a living 



when but a boy of eight years. His first em- 
ployment was in the cotton-mill at Holden, 
Mass., where his childish labor was valued at 
twenty-five cents per day. He gradually made 
his way upward step by step, until finally he 
became General Manager of the Boston Duck 
Company, in which position he continued for 
twenty years. He is now a stockholder in the 
Chicopee Manufacturing Company, the West 
Ware Paper Company, ami the United Electric 
Light Company of Springfield, Mass. Mr. 
Smith came from Palmer to Northampton in 
1890, where he purchased the Wood property, 
together with three and one-half acres (if land. 
a portion of which was a swamp. Upon this, 
after filling it in and grading it, he erected 
seven houses, which to-day are a valuable piece 
of property. After selling the frontage on 
Elm Street at a considerable profit, he still has 
a valuable estate left. 

Mr. Smith has been thrice married. His 
first wife was Miss Roxana Moody, of Palmer, 
Mass., to whom he was married October 3, 
1848. She was a daughter of Joseph Moody 
(deceased), and she died October 15, 1857, 
leaving two children: Clara E., the wife of 
Frank A. Packard, of Indian Orchard, Mass., 
who has two daughters; and Charles N. 
Smith, a builder and contractor residing in 
Savannah, N.Y., who has three sons and three 
daughters. Mr. Smith's second union was 
with Miss ElminaA. James, oi Palmer, Mass., 
who died April 3, 1868, at forty years of age. 
She bore him two sons: Frank ( ). Smith, a 
purchasing agent at Battle Creek, Mich., who 
is married and has a son and daughter, Clar- 
ence and Genevieve; and George X. Smith, a 
book-keeper for the Valley Falls Paper Com- 
pany of Holyoke, Mass., also married and 
father of one son, Claud H. Smith. Air. 
Smith's third wife was Miss Hattie Buckland 
before marriage, of Chicopee, Mass., a daugh- 



374 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ter of Ashbel Buckland (deceased). She died 
at Northampton, May 4, 1894, fifty-eight years 
of age. A son and daughter survive her: 
Oren Barron Smith, Jr., a student in the In- 
stitute of Technology of the class of 1897; 
and Gertrude L. Smith, a young lady residing 
at home with her father. At the time of her 
mother's death she was an art student in 
Smith College, and she is also a musician. It 
is a remarkable coincidence that Mr. Smith's 
three wives should each have lived ten years 
after marriage and that each left two children. 
Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics, and, 
though not a man who aspires to office, was, 
nevertheless, chosen as a member of the legis- 
lature in 1884, and for three years has served 
most acceptably as Selectman. He resides at 
15 Massasoit Street. 




)YMAN M. MORTON, one of Enfield's 
prosperous farmers, was born in his 
present home, March 8, 1825, son of 
William and Mercy (Jourdan) Morton. 

The first representative of the family in 
this country was Robert Morton. He came 
from England and settled in Salem, Mass., 
where William Morton, the grandfather of 
Lyman M. , was born in 1740. William Mor- 
ton removed from there to Enfield, May 26, 
1764, a date in the early days of the latter 
town, and settled on the farm now owned by 
his grandson. His father had previously pur- 
chased the land with the intention of settling 
here himself; but, on his return to Salem to 
make the necessary preparations for removal, 
he was taken sick and died. When William 
Morton settled on this farm, which then con- 
sisted of a large tract over a mile in length, 
the forest which covered it had never re- 
sounded to the blows of the woodman's axe. 
He was, undoubtedly, the first to clear any 



portion of the land. A sturdy pioneer, despite 
the danger from hostile Indians and the hard- 
ships incident to a newly settled country, he 
soon had a comfortable home and a portion of 
the land under cultivation. The house he 
then built is now occupied by his grandson 
and is the oldest in the town. Happily, the 
woods abounded with game of various kinds, 
and fresh supplies of meat were easily obtain- 
able. He continued to live there throughout 
the remainder of his life, dying in 181 8, sev- 
enty-seven years of age. In company with 
two of his brothers he served his country for 
three years in the Revolutionary War. Both 
his brothers were killed on the field of Tren- 
ton, and had a soldier's burial on the ground 
where they fell. He married Miss Esther 
Thurston, of Pelham, who reared him a family 
of three children;, namely, Robert, Margaret, 
and William. Both parents were attendants 
at the Congregational church. 

William Morton, the younger son, was born 
on the old homestead, June 9, 1780. As soon 
as he was old enough he began to assist his 
father in the farm work, and continued doing 
so until the latter's death. Then he took full 
charge; and, besides carrying on the usual 
work, he continued that of clearing the land. 
He took much interest in whatever pertained 
to the advancement of the town, but declined 
to serve in office. He died May 21, 1856. 
His wife was born in North Brookfield in 
1785. Five children were the fruit of their 
union, but Lyman M. Morton is now the sole 
survivor. Those deceased were : Bathsheba 
Rice Morton, born November 18, 181 3, who 
died April 11, 1867; William Wells, born 
September 13, 181 8, who died October 18, 
1849; Esther Thurston, born June 30, 1820, 
who died September 5, 1866; and Mahalah 
Alma, born May 6, 1823, who died October 
2, 1840. Their mother died August 2, 1858. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



375 



Both she and her husband were attendants of 
the Congregational church of Enfield. 

Lyman M. Morton, who grew to manhood 
on the old Morton farm, received his early ed- 
ucation in the district schools. He was pre- 
pared for college at Williston Seminary, but 
his education went no further. After leaving 
the seminary he took up teaching. He fol- 
lowed this profession successfully for about 
forty terms. He then engaged in mercantile 
business for three years. In 1S65 he pur- 
chased the farm of about one hundred acres 
on which he has since resided, and conducted 
general farming with profit. 

On July 6, 1870, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Nettie Wells Scott, born in En- 
field, November 5, 1832, a daughter of 
Charles and Lydia (Phephs) Scott. Mrs. 
Morton died on May 30, 1884, leaving no chil- 
dren. In politics Mr. Morton is independent 
of party. For a number of terms he has 
served as Assessor of Enfield. He is broad- 
minded and liberal in his religious views. He 
is held in high respect, an unusually well-read 
man, possessing a remarkably good memory, 
and is withal a very pleasant man to meet. 




LIHU P. BARTLETT, an old resident 
of Westhampton, was born there, March 
19, 1825, son of Elihu and Sarah 
(Hurlburt) Bartlett, the former a native of 
Westhampton, the latter of Southampton. 
The Bartlett family has been well known in 
the locality since the latter part of the last 
century, when Mr. Bartlett's grandfather re- 
moved from Northampton to Westhampton. 
He was then a young man, was many years a 
resident of the town, and engaged, like his 
neighbors, in farming. 

The elder Elihu Bartlett, father of Elihu 
P., also engaged in agriculture. He lived in 



the western part of the town till he was sixty- 
five years of age, when he went to reside with 
his son Elihu P. He died December 11, 
1866. His wife had passed away nine years 
before, on October 12, 1857. Their home 
was brightened by eight children, namely: 
Mary, deceased; Elihu P., the subject of this 
sketch; Asaph H., now in Leavenworth, 
Kan. ; Christopher C, who lives near his 
brother Elihu; Horace C. , Diana D., and two 
daughters named Sarah A., all of whom died 
some years ago. 

Elihu I'. Bartlett received a fair education 
in the schools of Westhampton. Living on 
the farm he necessarily became familiar with 
farm work. When twenty years of age he 
went to work in Westfield for a season, and 
later was employed in Springfield for a year. 
In 1848 he rented the farm which he now oc- 
cupies, and which in course of time he was 
able to purchase. At first it comprised one 
hundred and fifty acres. Since then Mr. Bart- 
lett has added to it, and now it is one hundred 
and eighty acres. He has made a great main- 
improvements, carries on general farming in 
an intelligent and progressive way, and derives 
from his bountiful crops an ample income. 

On June 14, 1850, Mr. Bartlett was united 
in marriage with Elsie E. Kingsley, who was 
born in Westhampton, daughter of Orrin and 
Emily (Hooker) Kingsley. Orrin Kingsley, 
who was a farmer in Westhampton, died in 
Northampton in December, 1S76. Mrs. Bart- 
lett died in 1855, and the place left vacant by 
her decease has never been filled, her husband 
remaining faithful to her memory. She left 
two children, Edward A. and Emily H. 
Edward A. married Emma Jessamine, of 
Brooklyn, N.Y. , and they are the parents of 
six children, three of whom are living: Elsie 
K., Ruby B., and Clifford M. He lives with 
his father, his wife superintending the house- 



376 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



hold. Emily H. is the wife of Henry 
Warner, of Leeds, Mass. In politics Mr. 
Hartlett was originally a Whig, and is now a 
Republican. He has a comfortable home, and 
the goodly acres which surround it are the rec- 
ompense of a life of honest and persevering 
labor. 



• "IPvEXTER R. BARNES, formerly a 
I I lumber dealer, now an enterprising 
{~-K**S and well-to-do farmer, diligently 
pursuing his occupation in the town of 
Granby, is a native of Hampshire County, 
born October 8, 1842, in the town of Pelham. 
He is a son of the late Ansel Barnes, who 
was born in Hardwick, Worcester County, 
and there worked for many years as a machin- 
ist. Ansel Barnes removed to Pelham while 
in the prime of a vigorous manhood, and there 
carried on general farming until his death 
on August 12, 1878. He married Deborah 
Churchill, a native of Cornish Flat, N.H., 
and they became the parents of eight chil- 
dren, namely: Susan; Lewis, deceased; Lu- 
cretia, deceased; Martha, deceased; Louise; 
Lois, deceased; Dexter R. ; and Hosea. 

Dexter, who was next to the youngest of the 
family, acquired a good common-school educa- 
tion in the place of his nativity, and was 
nineteen years of age when, on August 13, 
1862, he enlisted in Company G, under Cap- 
tain George Bliss, Fifty-second Massachusetts 
Volunteer Infantry. The regiment, com- 
manded by Colonel Greenleaf, was assigned 
to General Banks's division; and Mr. Barnes, 
with his comrades, took part in many of the 
important battles that followed, being present 
at Jackson, Miss., Irish Bend, and at the 
siege of Port Hudson, where Captain Bliss, 
who was then standing within four feet of 
him, was fatally shot. He was also in other 
skirmishes and in the great gunboat expedi- 



tion. After receiving his discharge at Green- 
field, he returned to Pelham, being sick for 
some six months afterward. Coming to this 
locality on his recovery, he worked for some 
time as a farm laborer, but in 1864 went 
home again, and was there similarly engaged 
for a year. During the next six months Mr. 
Barnes owned and operated a saw-mill, being 
quite successful therein, and then resumed 
his agricultural labors, continuing about a 
year, when he embarked in the lumber busi- 
ness. We next hear of him in Holyoke, 
where he was employed about six months in 
a sash and blind factory. Once more he re- 
turned to the home farm, and while there, on 
October 17, 1868, was united in marriage 
with Miss Jennie M. Kellogg, whose parents 
were Mr. and Mrs. David Kellogg. 

After his marriage Mr. Barnes came to 
the town of Granby, and purchased a farm, 
which he conducted for six months, when he 
sold it at an advance, and bought another 
estate, on which he lived a year. Having an 
advantageous offer, he sold that also, and then 
removed to the village of Granby, where for 
three years he was successfully engaged as a 
dealer in lumber, hay, and straw, finally re- 
linquishing the business to take possession of 
the farm he now owns and occupies. He has 
a snug property of thirty-five acres, which he 
carefully tills, the improvements that he has 
made being of a most excellent character. 
Politically, Mr. Barnes is a strong advocate of 
the principles of the Republican party, and is 
earnestly interested in the welfare and ad- 
vancement of his adopted town. He has 
served with ability in many of the local 
offices, having been Constable several years, 
Selectman two years, a Tax Collector, and at 
the time the State road was built a Road Com- 
missioner. At present he is serving as cattle 
inspector for the town of Granby. Socially, 






* 




DEXTER R. BARNES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



379 



he belongs to the E. J. Griggs Post, No. 97, 
Grand Army of the Republic, and also to the 
Granby Grange, of which he is Overseer. 

The family circle of Mr. and Mrs. Barnes 
has been enlarged by the birth of six chil- 
dren, as follows: Nellie, who died in infancy; 
Agnes; Henry; Addie; Chester, who lived 
but twelve years; and Forest, whose life on 
earth was but brief. In his religious views 
Mr. Barnes is quite liberal, and Mrs. Barnes 
is a conscientious and esteemed member of 
the Congregational church. 

A portrait of this active and influential 
citizen of Granby is here given. 






MAM M. THIEME, an esteemed 
ident of South Hadley Falls, 
having been connected with its 
manufacturing interests for forty years, was 
born in Saxony, January 6, 1831. Mr. 
Thieme's father, Benjamin T. Thieme, also 
a native of Saxony, born April 24, 1795, was 
a prosperous manufacturer, owning a woollen- 
mill, and was quite an influential man. in the 
place where he resided. His death, October 
4, 185 1, was considered a public loss. In 
1822 he married Elenora Yehnig, also a 
native of Saxony, born April 15, 1799. She 
died January 18, 1834, having borne her hus- 
band five children, as follows: Julia Augusta, 
deceased; Henrietta Amelia and Amelia 
Therese, both living in Germain': William 
M., the subject of this sketch; and a child 
that died in infancy. 

William M. Thieme received a substantial 
education in the public schools of the Father- 
land, and began the battle of life when twenty 
years of age. His father dying at that time, 
he assumed charge of the woollen-mill, and 
held it in partnership with the other heirs for 
four years. With a desire to better his con- 



dition, he then bade good-by to his relatives 
and friends, and embarked in July, 1855, on 
board the ship "Atlantic" for this country. 
After landing in New York, he came directly 
to this county, took up his residence in 
Northampton, and worked in a woollen-mill 
until the following January. He next ob- 
tained employment in a cotton-mill at Chico- 
pee until March, 1857, when he came to 
South Hadley Palls to fill a position in the 
Glasgow Cotton Mill. Being an industrious 
and faithful workman, it was not long before 
he was made an overseer. After this, when 
the occasion served, he was promoted to the 
responsible position of superintendent of the 
mill. He resigned this position some years 
ago, after spending twenty-eight years in the 
employment of the firm, and bought the Hol- 
yoke Journal* the German newspaper of this 
village. He conducted this publication alone 
for some time. Subsequently he took a part- 
ner; and the firm is now known as the Ger- 
man-American Publishing Company, of which 
Mr. Thieme is the President. In 1893 he 
retired from active participation in business. 
Under his administration the name of the 
paper was changed to the New England Rund- 
schau* its circulation was greatly increased, 
and it became the leading German paper oi 
this section of the State. He is also presi- 
dent of the water company of his town. 

On November 2^* 1 859, Mr. Thieme was 
united in marriage with Paulina Otto, who 
was born October 25, 1840, in Saxony, being 
the daughter of Ludwig and Johanna | Denz- 
ler) Otto, neither of whom is now living. 
The union has been blessed by the birth of 
five children, as follows: Paulina, who died 
in 1891 ; Emma, the wife of Robert Johannis, 
of Holyoke; Morris William, who lives in 
South Hadley Falls; Alfred Hermann, a 
painter, who resides in New York City; and 



3 8o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Edward Frank, a plumber, in South Hadley 
Falls. Mr. Thieme has taken a warm interest 
in the prosperity of his adopted town. His 
approval and support have been given to all 
worthy efforts to promote its interests. For 
some years he was a member of the Prudential 
Committee, and he has been President of the 
local Turner Halle Society. In politics he is 
bound by no party ties, but votes for the men 
and measures he deems best. Although 
neither Mr. nor Mrs. Thieme is connected 
with any religious organization, their children 
have been regular attendants at the Congrega- 
tional church. 




'RANKLIN C. POWERS, a well-to-do 
farmer of Greenwich, was born in that 
town, December 3, 1838, son of Cyrus 
and Hannah B. (Cone) Powers. Mr. Powers 
is a descendant of Walter Powers, who settled 
in Concord, Mass., previous to 1694; while 
the first of the family to locate in Greenwich 
was Abijah Powers. His son, Abijah, Jr., 
Mr. Powers's grandfather, who was born 
March 13, 1761, was a carpenter and builder, 
an occupation which he followed in addition 
to farming in Greenwich. He owned and 
occupied the present farm of his grandson, 
and was an industrious and successful man. 
He died in Greenwich, November 1, 18 14. 
He married Eunice Alden, who was born 
November 13, 1766, and they had six chil- 
dren; namely, John, Sally, Benjamin, Hor- 
ace, Alvah, and Cyrus. The mother died 
May 17, 1854. Mr. Powers's grandparents 
were members of the Congregational church. 

Cyrus Powers, father of Mr. Powers, was 
born at the old homestead in Greenwich, De- 
cember 16, 1804. He was a brush-maker, an 
occupation which he followed together with 
farming for the greater part of his life. A 



good, practical farmer, his agricultural vent- 
ures generally yielded a satisfactory profit. 
He was liberal in his religious views and a 
Democrat in politics. He died February 24, 
1877, aged seventy -two years. His wife, 
Hannah B. Cone before marriage, whom he 
married May 21, 1828, made him the father 
of six children, as follows: John, who was 
born February 25, 1829, and died in the hos- 
pital at Rome, Ga., October 30, 1865, from 
injuries received during the Civil War; Sarah 
C, born November 6, 1830, and now the wife 
of Isaiah Merrill, of Athol, Mass. : Lovina C, 
born November 26, 1832, residing at home; 
Franklin C, the subject of this sketch; Wal- 
ter O., born February 21, 1 841 , who died 
October 12, 1842; and Austin H., born Au- 
gust 11, 1849, who is now a resident of 
Orange, Mass. The mother, who still sur- 
vives, resides at the old homestead. 

Franklin C. Powers received his education 
in the district schools of Greenwich, and grew 
up familiarized with farm work upon the old 
Powers farm. He also learned the trade of- 
a carpenter and builder, and has followed 
that occupation as well as general farming. 
He-owns two hundred acres of well-improved 
land, which he cultivates with gratifying suc- 
cess. Mr. Powers is one of our representative 
farmers. He is a Democrat in politics, comes 
of a good family, and has the reputation of an 
industrious, conscientious, and liberal-minded 
man. 

(^TYLFRED CLARK PRESCOTT, of the 
LL\ firm of Boyden & Prescott, wholesale 
■^ * V»^ an d reta 'l dealers in foreign and 
domestic fruits, produce, and confectionery in 
Northampton, was born in Holden, Mass., in 
1864. His father, William M. Prescott, now 
a resident of Northampton, was born in 1820 
in West Boylston, Mass. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



381 



Alfred C. Prescott was graduated from the 
Clinton High School in 1881, being then 
seventeen years of age. For the succeeding 
five years he worked on his father's farm. 
He then came to this city, where he found 
employment with his present partner, Charles 
Henry Boyden. After working for four years 
here, he was admitted into partnership, under 
the firm name already mentioned. These 
gentlemen have one of the finest stores of the 
kind in Western Massachusetts. Since open- 
ing it, on April 1, 1893, they have built up a 
very large business both in wholesale and 
retail trade. They are enterprising, very 
active and progressive, showing in everything 
the business ability and tact so requisite to 
success. 




|EV. GEORGE M. FITZGERALD, 

pastor of St. Mary's Roman Catholic 
Church of Haydenville, was born 
in Westminster, Mass., October 28, 1857, son 
of Michael and Ann S. (Cohen) Fitzgerald. 
Michael Fitzgerald was born in County 
( ork, Ireland, in November, 1829, and ac- 
quired the trade of a blacksmith in his native 
land. At the age of seventeen he emigrated 
to the United States, first coming to Boston, 
where he remained but a short time, and from 
which city he went to Westminster, Mass., 
where he found steady employment at his 
trade. He became well known as a competent 
and reliable workman: and, being a man of 
intelligence and good character, possessing 
naturally a high-minded disposition, he not 
only realized success in a business way, but 
enjoyed the respect and hearty good will of 
his large circle of acquaintances. After a 
long and prosperous business career he retired 
from active labor, and now resides in Worces- 
ter, Mass. Michael Fitzgerald has reached a 
degree of affluence through his energy and 



ability; and, being determined that his chil- 
dren should be properly prepared for their 
life work, he has given them a liberal educa- 
tion. His wife, Ann S. Cohen before mar- 
riage, was born in Youghal, County Cork, 
Ireland, June 24, 1835. When young, she 
came to America, and resided in Montreal, 
where she was employed as a seamstress. 
She later moved to Fitchburg, Mass., where 
she met and married Michael Fitzgerald, the 
ceremony having been performed by the Rev. 
Father Gibson. She has been the mother of 
seven children, as follows: Maria, who died 
at the age of three years; George M., the sub- 
ject of this sketch: Mary, who is now a 
teacher; Ella, who resides at home; Sarah, 
who died aged two years: Edward, who is now 
assistant rector of Holy Name Church in 
Chicopee, Mass.; and Charles, who is a stu- 
dent at the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons of New York City. 

George M. Fitzgerald commenced his edu- 
cation in the public schools of Worcester. 
He pursued his classical studies at St. Mi- 
chael's College in Toronto, Canada, from 
which lie graduated in 1879* and was ordained 
a priest in Montreal in 1S82. His first 
appointment was as assistant pastor of St. 
Patrick's Church in Hinsdale, Mass., where he 
remained for two years. He then officiated in 
a similar capacity at St. Jerome's Church in 
Holyoke for four years, and on August 15. 
1889, was appointed by Bishop O'Riley, of 
Springfield, to succeed the Rev. William L. 
Long as pastor of St. Mary's Church in Hay- 
denville. This church was erected in 1868, 
and the Rev. Father Callahan was the first to 
celebrate mass in Haydenville. The church 
was founded by Messrs. P. Larkin, W. 
Hickey, M. Ryan, P. Hamilton, T. Ryan, 
and E. Grace. The first pastor was the Rev. 
Father P. Y. Moyce, of Northampton. Since 



3 82 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



taking charge of St. Mary's Parish, Father 
Fitzgerald has built an addition to the vestry 
of the church, enlarged the gallery, put in a 
large pipe organ and steam-heating apparatus. 
He has also purchased land adjoining the 
church, upon which he has built a handsome, 
three-story parochial residence; and the 
grounds have been graded into lawns and 
otherwise beautified. The cemetery has been 
fitted up under his direction, and these im- 
provements have necessarily made Father 
Fitzgerald a very busy man since his arrival 
in Haydenville. St. Mary's Parish numbers 
about twelve hundred souls, and the Sunday- 
school has a membership of two hundred and 
fifty. Connected with the church are the 
Catholic Benevolent Legion, the Ancient 
Order of Hibernians, the Sacred Heart So- 
dality, and the St. Mary's Rosary Society. 

Father Fitzgerald is a public-spirited man 
and actively interested in all progressive 
movements which may be beneficial to the 
general community. He is very popular in 
Haydenville, as he formerly was in Holyoke; 
and he is looked upon by all classes with the 
highest respect and esteem. 



f STeORGE F. THOMSON, M.D., a 
\te I well-known physician of Belchertown 
and a veteran of the Civil War, was 
born in Belchertown, Mass., January 9, 1833. 
His father, Dr. Horatio Thomson, was born 
at Tolland, Conn., October 6, 1804; and his 
grandfather, Gideon Thomson, also a physi- 
cian, was born at Mansfield, Conn. 

Dr. Gideon Thomson was a well-known 
physician and surgeon at Tolland, where he 
practised until his decease. The maiden 
name of his wife, Dr. Thomson's grand- 
mother, was Elizabeth Steele. Dr. Horatio 
Thomson turned his attention to the study of 



medicine at a very early age. Subsequent to 
following the occupation of an educator for a 
time, he commenced his preparations for pro- 
fessional life by studying with his father. 
Later he attended lectures at Yale College. 
He graduated from the medical department of 
that university in the year 1827, and settled 
in Belchertown, Mass., where he continued in 
active practice until his decease. This event 
occurred in his fifty-sixth year on the anniver- 
sary of his birth. His first wife, who died at 
the age of twenty-nine years, was before mar- 
riage Cordelia Chapman, of Tolland, daughter 
of Eliakim and Nancy Willes Chapman. She 
had two sons, namely: Charles H.; and 
George F., of this article. Charles H. be- 
came an attorney, and died at Corning, N.Y. 
The second wife was Lucy Maria Doolittle, 
daughter of the Hon. Mark Doolittle, of Bel- 
chertown. She bore him four children, all 
of whom died in infancy. 

George F. Thomson, M.D., received a lib- 
eral education in the academies at New 
Salem, Easthampton, Hadley, and Monson. 
After teaching for some time in the schools at 
Monson and Brimfield, he commenced the 
study of medicine at the age of eighteen 
years, first with his father and later with Dr. 
Palmer, of Woodstock, Vt. He graduated 
from the University of New York in 1855, 
and soon after was appointed surgeon of the 
emigrant ship "New World," plying between 
New York and Liverpool. After holding this 
position for three years, he established himself 
at Belchertown. In 1862 he received the 
appointment of Assistant Surgeon of the 
Thirty-eighth Regiment, Massachusetts Vol- 
unteer Infantry, and for more than two years 
served in the Department of the Gulf, under 
Major-general N. P. Banks. He was subse- 
quently promoted to the rank of Surgeon, and 
assigned to the Eighteenth Massachusetts 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIF.W 



383 



Volunteers: but ill health prevented him from 
undertaking the duties of that post. Early in 
the month of January, 1865, he was appointed 
by Governor Andrew and commissioned by 
Governor Fenton as Surgeon of the Twenty- 
sixth New York Volunteer Cavalry, which 
was stationed upon the Canadian frontier 
until July of that year. He was then honor- 
ably discharged, and returned to Belchertown. 
In the following January, having recovered 
his health, he resumed his practice, and has 
continued it without interruption to the pres- 
ent day. During this time Dr. Thomson has 
had practice in three different counties; but 
at one time he attended a large number of 
patients in seventeen different towns. At 
present he has an extensive practice in a sec- 
tion which includes eight towns. 

In 1S65 he wedded Miss Sophia M. Brown, 
daughter of Asa Brown, Esq., of Had lev. 
They have two children, Edmund S. and 
Lucy D. The former, a graduate of Harvard 
University and the New York College of Phy- 
sicians ami Surgeons, is now practising at 
New Haven, Conn. Lucy D. is a graduate of 
Smith College, and will graduate in 1896 at 
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
Dr. Thomson is a member of Bethel Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., and a comrade of E. J. 
Griggs Post, No. 97, Grand Army of the 
Republic. 

»^»»-» 

RTHLR W. GIBBS, of Huntington, 
Mass., was born in Blandford, Mass., 
March 2, 1862, son and only child 
of John H. and Jane M. (Hubbard) Gibbs. 
He is a descendant of William Gibbs, a native 
of England, from the town of Lenharn, York- 
shire County. 

About the year 1650 William Gibbs re- 
ceived from the king of England for signal 
service a grant of land, one mile square, in 




the centre of the town. He had three sons, 
of whom the eldest remained at home, and 
inherited his father's property. The two 
younger sons learned the ship carpenter's 
trade; and, when they became of age, their 
elder brother gave them money, and they 
came to Boston. One of them settled on the 
Cape, the other in Newport, R.I. The one 
who settled on the Cape (hist name not 
known) had three children: Isaac, Israel, and 
Sarah. Israel married Mary Hamilton, a lady 
of Irish descent; and because of this marriage 
he was disowned by his brother and sister. 
This induced Israel to join a Scotch-Irish 
company who were on the eve of starting to 
settle this region, then a wilderness. These 
hardy adventurers reached the centre of Glas- 
gow (now Blandford) in the latter part of 
April, 1735. On the day of their arrival a 
heavy snow storm set in, and continued three 
days, leaving snow on the ground to the depth 
of three or four feet. However, the snow- 
soon began to thaw; and they were enabled to 
prosecute their pilgrimage. The first cart 
that entered the town was owned by Israel 
Gibbs, whose son Israel, Jr., was the first 
male child born in Blandford. Israel was the 
father of nine children, of whom Elijah was 
the oldest. They both served in the Revolu- 
tionary War, and were with General Gates at 
the surrender of General Burgoyne. Elijah 
had eleven children, of whom Bradner, Mr. 
Gibbs's grandfather, was the youngest. His 
mother in her maidenhood was Fannie Mor- 
ton, born November 15, 1769, daughter of 
John Morton, who was born in Edinburgh, 
Scotland. Mr. Morton was pastor of the 
Presbyterian church (now Congregational) in 
Blandford from 1749 to 1772. 

Elijah Gibbs, born May 14, 1 76 1 , died 
November 7, 1840; and Fannie Morton Gibbs 
died March 31, 1838. They accumulated a 



3«4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



very large property for those days. Although 
their education was imperfect, their sound 
judgment and natural good sense won for 
them a prominent position in society. A 
short time before the death of the husband 
and father he called upon a magistrate, and 
wished to add the following codicil to his 
will, having heard that some of his children 
were determined to break it after his decease: 
"Whereas many estates have, been spent in 
law by children while endeavoring to obtain 
more of their father's property than he de- 
signed to give them, and whereas my children 
may be as likely as others to do the same, 
therefore, if any of my children shall attempt 
to break this, my last will and testament, 
after it shall have been read to them, it is my 
will and design that that child or those chil- 
dren who shall attempt to break this, my last 
will and testament, shall have no part of my 
property, and that the same shall be equally 
divided among my other children who shall be 
satisfied with their father's bounty." It is 
needless to say that it had the desired effect. 

Bradner, the youngest son of Elijah, was 
born December I, 1814, and died August 19, 
1888. He was married in Sandisfield, Mass., 
November 30, 1837, to Sarah C. Deming, who 
was born November 26, 1815, and died De- 
cember 10, 1890. They had seven children, of 
whom John H. Gibbs, the eldest, is the father 
of Arthur W., the subject of this sketch. 

He (John) was born in Blandford, Decem- 
ber 14, 1839. He is successfully engaged in 
agriculture and in general farming and stock- 
raising. His wife was a native of Sandisfield, 
Mass. ; and her people were farmers in that 
town. The old homestead has been owned by 
the Gibbs family for more than a century, 
passing successively from father to son, has 
never had any encumbrance, and always had 
a clear title. 



Arthur W. Gibbs attended the Wilbraham 
Academy during the years 1881 and 1882, and 
then engaged as clerk in the general store of 
Timothy Keefe, of Chester, Mass., for sixteen 
months. On January 1, 18S6, he came to 
Huntington for the purpose of taking a simi- 
lar position with E. Pease, of whose business 
he later purchased an interest. The firm is 
an enterprising one, and has a large and profit- 
able trade. Mr. Gibbs was appointed Post- 
master of Huntington in 1893, and conducts 
the affairs of the office to general satisfac- 
tion. He is a member of Huntington Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., and is highly esteemed by 
his fellow-townsmen. 

On January 1, 1888, Mr. Gibbs was united 
in marriage to Carrie E. Eames. She was 
born in Troy, N.Y., October 4, 1861, daugh- 
ter of Andrew and Janet (Lyman) Eames, the 
former of whom was a prosperous farmer. 
Mrs. Gibbs's parents raised a family'of three 
children: Carrie E., Nellie, and Lizzie. Mr. 
and Mrs. Gibbs had three children, namely: 
Howard Arthur, born October 5, 1889, who 
died July 29, 1890; Isabelle Frances, born 
March 16, 1892; and Elizabeth May, born 
January 10, 1894. Both parents are members 
of the Congregational church, Mr. Gibbs 
being the treasurer of the society and a 
member of the choir. 



W U <: 



LLIAM S. CLARK, one of the 
foremost citizens of Granby, active 
in his profession, in business, and 
in social circles, is a worthy representative of 
the native residents of the town. Less than 
thirty years of age,- the date of his birth being 
April 25, 1867, he is one of the younger gen- 
eration of men in public office. His father, 
the late Spencer Clark, was for many years 
one of the leading farmers of this locality, 





WILLIAM S. CLARK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



587 



serving as Selectman in 1879 and 1880, be- 
sides holding other offices. He married Ar- 
villa Davis, a native of Royalston, Worcester 
County, Mass. Mrs. Davis is now living 
with her son, of whom we write, her husband 
having passed from earth in 1883. 

William S. Clark was the only child born 
to his parents. He acquired his elementary 
education in the public schools, this being 
supplemented by a two years' attendance at 
Williston Seminary, from which he received 
his diploma in 1884. Subsequently entering 
Yale College, he was graduated from there in 
1888, and the following year was engaged in 
agriculture. In 1889 Mr. Clark began read- 
ing law in the office of William H. Brooks, of 
Holyoke, remaining with him a few months 
after his admission to the bar, which was 
on December 21, 1891. Returning then to 
Granby, he has since been conspicuously 
identified with the best interests of the town, 
and, while attending to his professional 
duties, has also carried on farming to a con- 
siderable extent. He is the owner of a val- 
uable farm of three hundred acres that he 
rents, in addition to the one on which he 
lives. In him the Democratic party finds one 
of its strongest supporters, and his towns- 
people one of their most valued officials. Mr. 
Clark has been a member of the School Com- 
mittee here ever since his first election, in 
1889; and since 1S93 he has been a member 
of the Board of Selectmen. 

Mr. Clark has always been an active worker 
in Masonic circles, and has done much to 
promote the prosperity of the order in this 
State. He belongs to Vernon Lodge of Bel- 
chertown, and was Master of it in 1891, 1S92, 
and 1893. He has also a membership in the 
Mount Holyoke Council, Royal and Select 
Masons, in the Springfield Commandery, 
Knights Templars, and in 1895 was appointed 



District Deputy Grand Master of the Seven- 
teenth Masonic District. He joined the 
Evening Star Lodge of Perfection in Spring- 
field, and is likewise a member of the 
Massasoit Council, Princes of Jerusalem, of 
Springfield, of the Rose Croix Chapter, and 
of the Massachusetts Consistory, of Boston, 
having taken the thirty-second degree in that 
Lodge. Mr. Clark is also connected with the 
Granby Grange, which he joined in 1S89, and 
was Master of it in 1S93 and 1894. He takes 
a deep interest in the advancement of the 
cause of temperance, and is an active member 
of the Lodge of Good Templars. On the 1st 
of October, 1891, Mr. Clark was united in 
marriage with Miss Maude I. Davis, who was 
born September 27, 1871, in Somers, Conn., 
daughter of O. L. and Ellen S. (Washburn ) 
Davis. Two children have been born of this 
union: Ruth, on May 29, 1893; and Donald 
Spencer, July 22, 1895. 

The Granby Co-operative Creamery Asso- 
ciation was chartered in January, 1889, and 
commenced the business of manufacturing 
butter on the 1st of March. William S. 
Clark was elected its first clerk and treasurer; 
and its first Board of Directors consisted of 
Clinton W. Stebbins, Monroe Keith, C. W. 
Ferry, S. A. Taylor, and J. II. Barton. It 
was due chiefly to the enterprise and energ) 
of these six men that the corporation was 
formed. They believed that it would be not 
only a boon to the tired housewife, but a 
financial success also: and the history of the 
association shows that they were right. Many 
of the farmers were slow to appreciate its 
advantages; but they have gradually joined 
the association until, from a beginning with 
only fifteen patrons, the factor)- now receives 
cream from fifty-eight farmers. 

During the six years ending March 1, [895, 
the association has received three million, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



three hundred and eighty-five thousand, nine 
hundred and three spaces of cream, for which 
it has paid to its patrons one hundred and 
twenty thousand, seven hundred and sixty- 
seven dollars and seventy-six cents. From 
this cream there have been sold directly five 
hundred and fifty-six gallons of cream; and 
there have been made and sold five hundred 
and twenty-nine thousand, nine hundred and 
one pounds of butter and two hundred and 
twenty thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight 
gallons of buttermilk, for which the associa- 
tion has received one hundred and forty-five 
thousand, six hundred and three dollars and 
seventy-two cents. The expenses of the asso- 
ciation for the six years, including dividends 
on its capital stock of thirty-five hundred 
dollars and a reserve for depreciation, have 
been twenty-four thousand, eight hundred and 
thirty-five dollars and ninety-six cents. Mr. 
Clark is still the clerk and treasurer, and the 
present Board of Directors consists of George 
L. Witt, president; Monroe Keith, H. S. 
Taylor, Charles E. Preston, of South Hadley, 
and A. L. Bennett, of Ludlow. 

The accompanying portrait of Mr. Clark 
adds much to the interest of this brief sketch 
of his useful and varied activities to the pres- 
ent date. 




(HARLES B. LYMAN, who has been 
identified with the agricultural inter- 

»lf •' ests of this section of Hampshire 

County for many years, is a native of Chester, 
Hampden County, born October 22, 1828, son 
of Colonel Samuel and Miriam S. (Tinker) 
Lyman. 

Colonel Samuel Lyman was born in Ches- 
ter, May 21, 1787, and was there brought up 
on a farm. He was prominent in military 
affairs, and in the closing years of the War of 
1S12 spent some time encamped in South Bos- 



ton, having been a member of the regiment 
commanded by Colonel Enos Foote. He was 
not engaged in any battle; but after his re- 
turn home, having continued his membership 
in the home militia, he was made Colonel of 
the Fourth Regiment, First Brigade, of the 
Fourth Division of the Massachusetts militia. 
He was a man of deep religious convictions 
and a Deacon in the Congregational church of 
his native town for a score of years. In 1842 
the Colonel removed to Southampton, and was 
here closely connected with the active work of 
the church during his remaining years. He 
attained a venerable age, his death occurring 
December 8, 1876. He was twice married. 
His first wife, Miriam S. Tinker before mar- 
riage, whom he wedded October 26, 1809, was 
a native of Chester. After her death Colo- 
nel Lyman married Julia Barnes Marble, and 
the record of all the children, except Charles 
B. Lyman, is as follows: Harriet, born Octo- 
ber 10, 1810, died August 18, i860. On 
November 6, 1833, she married Garry Mun- 
son, of Chester, by whom she had seven chil- 
dren: Myron, Edward, Wilson H. and Willard 
H. (twins), Samuel, Emma (deceased), and 
Cleora. Stephen Lyman, born December 24, 
181 1, was a grocer and railway agent in 
Southampton, where his death occurred in 
1 89 1. He married Julia S. Searle, of that 
town, and their children were: Martha L., 
born December 8, 1838; Harriet E., born 
December 14, 1843, who died September 3, 
1844; Harriet B., born February 12, 1846; 
Stephen W., born October 10, 1850; and 
Frederic B., born December 3, 1853. Mir- 
iam B. Lyman, married November 27, 1845, 
to Francis A. Strong, now a miller and 
dealer in flour in Ripon, Wis., has four 
children: Eunice L., born March 14, 1849; 
Louis H., born April 25, 1852; Sarah E., 
born October 20, 1854, who died July 5, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



389 



1865; and Abbie A., bom June 22, 1856. 
Rufus Lyman, a carpenter by trade, was mar- 
ried October 9, 1849, to Sarah A. Bartlett, 
who bore him three children: an unnamed 
daughter, born March 26, 1854, who lived but 
two days; Clarence M., born March 2, 1859; 
and Herbert B., born March 15, 1863. Sam- 
uel T. , for many years Postmaster, express 
agent, and merchant in Huntington, and 
married April 17, 1S49, to Augusta N. Kirk- 
land, had six children, namely: Charles P., 
born December 29, 1851 ; Ella A. and Emma, 
twins, born March 19, 1S54, who died in 
infancy; Eugene H., born February 1, 1857; 
Cassius S., born March 2, i860; and Robert 
H., bom March 3, 1864. Emma S. Lyman 
was married September 14, 1848, to Samuel 
N. Coleman, a farmer, and their children 
were: Frank B., born in September, 1849; 
Emerson N., born July 26, 1851; Carrie M., 
born June 30, 1S53, who died September 16, 
1885; and Ellen ]., born August 16, 1855. 
Myra E. Lyman, born July 27, 1833, married 
Solomon Richards December 30, 1858, and 
their children were: George L. ; and Solo- 
mon and Myra, born June 1, 1863. 

Charles B. Lyman received an excellent 
common-school education in the place of his 
nativity. As soon as he was old enough he 
began to assist in the manual labor of the 
farm, becoming thoroughly familiar with agri- 
culture in his early days. After reaching his 
majority, he continued on the home farm, to 
the ownership of which he finally succeeded. 
His mother having died in 1847, ne cared 
for his father during his declining years. In 
addition to general farming, he has made a 
specialty of dairying and gardening, shipping 
butter, vegetables, chickens, and eggs to 
Springfield. Both he and his father have 
shipped their produce to that city for fifty- 
three years. Their goods are ever in demand, 



and bring the highest market price, their 
superiority being well recognized. In local 
affairs Mr. Lyman has always taken an active 
and intelligent interest. He has been Select- 
man four years, and is at present chairman of 
the School Committee. He is a zealous advo- 
cate of Republican principles, and uniformly 
casts his vote with that party. He is a mem- 
ber of the Franklin Harvest Club, having 
united with it twelve years ago. He was 
President of the Hampshire, Franklin, and 
Hampden Agricultural Society, and is now 
a member of the Massachusetts Board of Agri- 
culture. He and his family are connected by 
membership with the Congregational church, in 
which he is a useful worker, and was superin- 
tendent of the Sunday-school for several years. 
On May 8, 1851, Mr. Lyman was united in 
marriage with Angeline Avery, who was born 
October 29, 1829, a daughter of Richard 
Avery, of this town. Three children have 
been born to them, of whom one, Flora A., 
born June 10, 1863, died March 25, 1864. 
Their son Arthur \V. is engaged in market 
gardening adjoining his father's farm. He 
married Anna S. Munson, and they have two 
children: Flora M., born on September 18, 
1882; and Mary A., born on February 24, 
1886. The other son, Charles L., born May 
11, 1865, a farmer, living with his parents, 
married Etta F. Ranger, December 1, 1890; 
and they are the parents of one child, Harold 
L., born October 17, 1893. 




ILLIAM SMITH MILLER, whole- 
sale dealer in meats and provisions 
in Northampton, was burn in South 
Hadley in i860, son of Edward Curtis and 
Elizabeth White (Smith) Miller and grand- 
son of Joseph Miller, one of the pioneer 
farmers of Ludlow. 



39° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Grandfather Miller died at the age of 
eighty-five, some years after his wife had 
passed away. They reared two sons and three 
daughters, but only one son is now living. 
This is Edward Curtis Miller, who came to 
South Hadley in 1838. Then a strong young 
man of- nineteen, he hired with Ezra Allen as 
a farm hand, and worked for him six years. 
At the expiration of that time he bought fifty- 
acres of land in South Hadley, upon which he 
established a homestead, and there resides 
to-day, engaged in general farming. In No- 
vember, 1845, he was united in marriage to 
Elizabeth W., daughter of Medad Smith, of 
Granby, who claims a long and honorable 
lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Miller had a large 
family of children. It comprised: Joseph 
Edward, who died in 1888, at the age of forty- 
two, leaving a widow and three children; 
Charles Herbert, in the meat business in 
Williamsburg; Martha Pamelia, wife of C. A. 
Gridley, a merchant in South Hadley; Frank, 
who died in infancy; Harriet E., who also 
passed away in childhood; Addie Elizabeth, 
at home with her parents; William Smith, 
the subject of this notice; and Carrie Irene, 
wife of F. H. Cook, draughtsman in the office 
of the Holyoke Water Company. 

William Smith Miller received a good edu- 
cation. After attending the common schools, 
he studied for one year at the Agricultural 
College of Massachusetts and for one year 
more at a business college in Springfield. 
At the age of twenty-one he entered the busi- 
ness world. His first venture was a market 
in Amherst, which he conducted for two 
years. He then bought a farm in Hadley, 
and cultivated it with profit. At the same 
time he took charge of an extensive butcher- 
ing establishment, succeeding Mr. Jackson in 
that line. In the fall of 1893 he sold his 
farm, and removed to Northampton, there en- 



gaging in the wholesale meat business as one 
of the firm of F. C. Steele & Co. In the fol- 
lowing year the firm name was changed to 
Miller & Steele; and in March, 1895, Mr. 
Miller took charge of the entire business. 
He handles the best of goods, averaging fifty 
head of cattle per week. The two-story brick 
building that he occupies was built by Armour 
& Co. in 1893. It has the latest improve- 
ments in cold storage, and is admirably fitted 
in every way for handling and preserving 
meats. 

Mr. Miller was united in marriage on 
August 26, 1885, to Mary J. Howe, of Had- 
ley, daughter of Charles Howe, of Boston. 
Mrs. Miller is a graduate of the College for 
Girls at Bordentown, N.J., and is a lady of 
refinement, with an exceptional grace of man- 
ner. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have two daugh- 
ters: Mary Elizabeth and Grace Adele, 
respectively eight and five years of age. Mr. 
Miller is a member of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and in politics he is a Re- 
publican. He occasionally attends the Con- 
gregational church at Hadley, of which Mrs. 
Miller is a member. He is regarded as a 
capable and experienced business man, one 
with whom it is pleasant to deal. 



T^AAPTAIN TIMOTHY W. SLOAN, 
I \r a prominent citizen and one of the 

V J? ^ leading boot and shoe dealers of 
Amherst, Mass., was born in the town of 
Prescott, January 23, 1827, son of John P. 
and Rachel (Upton) Sloan, who were both 
natives of that place. 

The earliest ancestor of this family came 
from Ireland. Captain Sloan's great-grand- 
father was one of the first settlers of Prescott, 
Mass.; and his grandfather, James Wilson 
Sloan, was born there. The latter, when he 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



39' 



had grown to manhood, purchased a farm in 
the locality, and spent the rest of his life 
occupied in its cultivation. He held a high 
place in the esteem of his neighbors, and 
died when but a little past middle life. He 
married a Miss Pierce; and they became the 
parents of thirteen children, five sons and 
eight daughters, all of whom grew to adult 
life and married. Of all the only survivor 
now is Jonathan W. Sloan, who resides in 
Athol, Mass. 

John P. Sloan grew to manhood and spent 
all his days in Prescott. He chose farming 
as his avocation, and followed it during the 
greater part of his life upon a small place 
owned by him. Resides attending to his agri- 
cultural duties, he also worked at the trade of 
stone mason. His religious views were lib- 
eral, and his political principles were Repub- 
lican. His death occurred in Greenwich, 
Mass., when he was fifty-one years of age. 
He and his wife reared a family of seven chil- 
dren, all of whom have since died, with the 
exception of Timothy \V. Sloan, who was the 
eldest. The deceased were: Lorraine, Lucy, 
Laura, Abbie, Sardis, and George. Their 
mother died in YVestfield, Mass., si.xtv-eight 
years of age. 

Timothy W. Sloan received a good practi- 
cal education in the district schools of Pres- 
cott. He learned the trade of a shoemaker; 
and, when twenty -one years of age, he went 
to Shutesbury, Mass., and obtained a posi- 
tion in the boot and shoe factory of J. H. 
Winter. In 1856 he went to Amherst, where 
he was employed by Oliver Watson in the 
same line of business. Soon after the begin- 
ning of the Civil War, on September 20, 
1 861, he enlisted in Company D of the 
Twenty - seventh Massachusetts Regiment; 
and, having been one of those most active in 
organizing the company, he was given the 



captaincy. Among the battles in which he 
took part were those of Roanoke Island, 
Newborn, N.C., Beaufort, N.C., and Little 
Washington. After serving two years, he 
was honorably discharged on account of sick- 
ness and disability. He at once returned to 
Amherst; and, when he had regained his 
health sufficiently, he engaged in the boot and 
shoe business on his own account, and has 
continued in it since. His stock in trade, 
always one of the largest in the town, in- 
cludes a variety of makes, and qualities to suit 
all tastes and purses. By his enterprise and 
fair dealing he has secured an excellent 
patronage. 

In 1S50, on November 26, he was joined in 
marriage with Miss Sarah T. Williams, who 
was born in Shutesbury, Mass., November 12, 
1828, a daughter of Elijah and Lovisa 
(Pierce) Williams. Her father, who was born 
in Brooklyn, Conn., and was both a farmer 
and a wheelwright, died at the age of seventy- 
eight years; and her mother, who was a native 
of Shutesbury, Mass., lived to be seventy-one 
years of age. Both were members of the Bap- 
tist church, and he was an adherent of the 
Republican party. Twelve children were 
born to them, six sons and six daughters, of 
whom four are now living. These are: Har- 
riet, wife of William Thurber; Emily, widow 
of James Thompson; Clara, who married 
Apollos Howard; and Sarah T., who is Mrs. 
Sloan. Of those deceased Mary married Asa 
Spear, and died in Palatine, 111.: and Ange- 
line married Samuel White, of Prescott, and 
died in Chicago, 111. The others were: 
Shepard, Orrin, Charles, and George; with 
Asa and Joseph, who both died in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sloan have three children liv- 
ing, as follows: Jennie, wife of 1-'. A. Hobbs, 
residing in South Lee, Mass. ; Fred W., who 
is married, and assists his father in the store, 



39 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



residing in Amherst; and Lizzie A., living 
;it home. They lost two children by death, 
namely: Charles L., who died when three 
years old; and Emma M., at the age of eigh- 
teen years. 

Captain Sloan is a Republican. For about 
eighteen years he has rendered most accept- 
able service to his town as Constable. He is 
a member of Pacific Lodge of A. F. & A. M. 
of Amherst; also of the Edwin M. Stanton 
Post, No. 147, Grand Army of the Republic, 
of Amherst, of which he was the first Com- 
mander, a position held by him for over ten 
years. He is a member of the Universalist 
church, and his wife of the First Congrega- 
tional Church. 




|DWARD T. BARRUS, a leading mer- 
chant and real estate owner of Will- 
iamsburg, was born in the town of 
Goshen, Mass., October 13, 1861, son of 
Theron L. and Czarina N. (Robinson) Barrus. 
Mr. Barrus's grandparents, Levi and Almeda 
(Stearns) Barrus, moved from Salem, Mass., 
to Goshen, and settled upon four hundred 
acres of land. Levi Barrus was a very pros- 
perous farmer and a highly esteemed citizen. 
He was originally a Whig in politics, but later 
joined the Republican party. He was a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church. He died at his 
homestead in Goshen at the age of seventy- 
three years. His children were: Hiram, 
Lorin, Charles, Alvan, Laura, Jane, and 
Theron L. 

Theron L. Barrus, Mr. Barrus's father, was 
born at the homestead in Goshen, September 1, 
1829. He attended the select school three 
winter terms, working during the summer in 
the turning shop of Ranney & Gage, and also 
at plane-making. After finishing his studies 
he taught school for nine winters, his summers 



being occupied in farming and working at 
plane-making in Swift River. He purchased 
what is known as the red house property, a 
farm of twenty acres, situated in the vicinity 
of his present residence, and devoted his sum- 
mers to agriculture and his winters to the 
manufacturing of ladders, which he sold 
through the surrounding section. He later 
bought the Cushman place of eight acres, and 
still later the Parsons farm, which consists of 
one hundred acres ; and he has since resided 
upon that property. He carries on general 
farming and dairying. He has remodelled the 
farm buildings, keeps ten choice cows, and is 
in good circumstances. He is a Republican 
in politics, and has been a member of the 
School Board for twenty years. He united 
with the Congregational church in young man- 
hood, and at the age of twenty-five was chosen 
a Deacon, a position which he still holds. In 
1852 Theron L. Barrus married Czarina N. 
Robinson, born December 27, 1831, and 
daughter of James and Adeline (Randall) 
Robinson. She became the mother of five 
children: James L., William A., Edward T., 
Mary A., and Lida E. The mother died May 
6, 1895. 

Edward T. Barrus commenced his studies in 
the schools of his native town, and completed 
his education at the Sanderson Academy in 
Ashfield, Mass. At the age of twenty years 
he began work as a wood polisher in the shop 
of the Crosby Manufacturing Company in 
Swift River. After remaining there for one 
year he went to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where 
he pursued a course at Eastman's Business 
College. He then went to Boston as a book- 
keeper in the wholesale clothing house of 
C. N. Mellen & Co., and after remaining 
there for a time resigned his position in order 
to devote his attention to teaching. He later 
returned to mercantile pursuits, and after act- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



393 



ing as travelling salesman for a short time 
"purchased an interest in the general store of 
J. H. Godfrey in Goshen, where he remained 
in business for six years, at the expiration of 
which time he retired from the firm. In 
1890 he came to Williamsburg and purchased 
the stuck of S. K. Waite, which included 
buildings and the adjoining land on Main 
Street. He refitted the store and put in an 
extensive stuck of general merchandise, so en- 
abling himself to supply a large and con- 
stantly increasing patronage. He employs a 
force of five men, and four teams are kept 
busy in delivering goods. He also runs a 
provision store in Holyoke, Mr. Barrus is 
President of the Williamsburg Co-operative 
Creamery Association, which is proving a 
most profitable enterprise. He purchased the 
Kingsley shop on South Street, which he has 
enlarged and fitted up for storage purposes. 
He has also found it necessary to build an ad- 
dition to his store. He has invested in a valu- 
able piece of real estate on Main Street, which 
he has subdivided into building lots for resi- 
dences, and in many other ways has displayed 
a spirit of energy and enterprise, which will, 
without doubt, insure his future prosperity. 
On May 18, 1887, Mr. Barrus was united in 
marriage to Mary L. Graves, daughter of Sam- 
uel and Sarah (Bartlett) Graves, of Southamp- 
ton, Mass., and has one son, named Roger E., 
who was hum May 16, 1893. Mr. Barrus is 
one of the brightest and most progressive young 
business men in Hampshire County, and is 
highly esteemed by his fellow-townsmen. 



fc-jTOHN T. KEATING, a rising young 
lawyer of Northampton, was bum in 
that town, July 20, 1864. He is of 
Irish ancestry and parentage, and has inherited 
in an eminent degree the sterling traits of 



character that distinguished his father, the late- 
Michael Keating. 

Michael Keating was born Jul)' 10, 1828, 
in Limerick, Ireland, son of Owen and Mary 
Keating. He was one of a family of six chil- 
dren, all of whom, except one who died in in- 
fancy, grew to manhood, and, after the death 
of their father, came with their widowed 
mother to America. The long voyage was 
made in a sailing-vessel in 1849, and occupied 
seven weeks. After a short stay in New York 
City the family located in Northampton, 
where Michael learned the trade of a mason 
and bricklayer. He afterward became one of 
the leading contractors and builders of the 
city; and for nearly thirty years he was em- 
ployed by the government, doing all work 
needed from time to time at the hospital 
grounds. He counted among his friends Dr. 
Earle, who was for so many years the beloved 
superintendent of the asylum. Michael Keat- 
ing was a man of more than ordinary intelli- 
gence and ability. He was honored by his 
fellow-townsmen by being elected a member 
of the first City Council. In this capacity he 
served three years, being the presiding officer 
one year. He was also the incumbent of sev- 
eral other offices of trust and responsibility. 
His death, on July 14, 1891, was a loss to the 
city, as well as to his family. On August 21, 
1853, he married Mary Maloney, who came to 
America from Limerick, Ireland, in 184S with 
her father, John Maloney. Of their five chil- 
dren three died very young. The survivors 
are: John T., above named; and Michael J., 
who has succeeded his father in business. 
The mother lived but one short year after the 
decease of her husband, dying July 14, [892. 

John T. Keating is a man of scholarly at- 
tainments, having been graduated from the 
Northampton High School in 1885 and four 
years later from Amherst College. Mr. Keat- 



394 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ing subsequently entered the law office of 
Judge Bassett, and on June 18, 1889, was ad- 
mitted to the bar of Hampshire County. In 
the following October he was admitted to part- 
nership with Judge Bassett ; but since October, 
1890, he has been in practice in his own office, 
at 102 Main Street. He is very active 
and influential in politics. He has been 
chairman of the Democratic City Committee 
for four years. He likewise served as Clerk 
of the Common Council for five years. Mr. 
Keating is a very fluent and ready speaker, 
and, during the Presidential campaign of 1892, 
made some of the most effective stump 
speeches of the time, including many ad- 
dresses in French — a language with which he- 
is very familiar. He is a very popular man 
in all circles, and is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, being a Knight of Pythias. 

On September 17, 1892, Mr. Keating was 
united in marriage with Annie I. Cooney, a 
daughter of Michael Cooney. Mrs. Keating 
is a very bright and capable woman, and, with 
her sister, Ella Cooney, is engaged in the mil- 
linery business in Northampton. In 1S92 Mr. 
Keating was prominently mentioned as an 
eligible candidate for Mayor. Mr. and Mrs. 
Keating have a beautiful home at 94 State 
Street, a house erected by his father in 
1884 for John T. Dewey, who afterward sold 
it to the builder. 



^T'he 



HE STANTON FAMILY, of Hunting- 
a I ton, have long resided in Hampshire 
County ; and many of its members are 
well known in that section of the State. 
They are descendants of Thomas Stanton, who 
emigrated from England to the Colony of Vir- 
ginia in 1636. Thence he went to Boston, 
and later to Hartford, Conn., where in 1637 
he settled, and established a trading - post. 



He married Ann Lord and became the father 
of twelve children. He died December 2, 
1676. His second son, Captain John Stanton, 
was born in Hartford in 1641, and was edu- 
cated for the ministry. He served as Captain 
in King Philip's War, and became prominent 
in framing the laws of the colony. He died 
October 13, 1713. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Hannah Thompson, became the 
mother of six children. John Stanton, Jr., 
first son of Captain John Stanton, was born 
May 22, 1665. He received land from his 
father, upon which he resided until his death. 
He raised a family of eleven children, and 
his seventh son, Jabez Stanton, was born De- 
cember 19, 1 71 8. He resided in Preston, 
Conn., and died March 2, 1804. His wife, 
Sarah Morse, was the mother of eleven chil- 
dren. Abel Stanton, fourth son of Jabez 
Stanton, was born December 29, 174S. When 
a young man he settled upon a tract of land in 
Norwich, Mass., where he followed agriculture 
until his death, which occurred in 1821. He 
married Olive Reed, and had a family of 
twelve children, as follows: Abel, Jabez, 
Thomas, Asher, James, Joseph, Waldon, Deb- 
orah, Sarah, Peleg, Daniel, and Seth. 

Deacon Joseph Stanton, sixth son of Abel 
Stanton, was born in Connecticut, July 18, 
1783. He came to Huntington in youth with 
his father, resided there during the remainder 
of his life, and died at the old Stanton home- 
stead, March 12, 1870. His wife, who before 
her marriage was Grace Winchell, of Chester, 
became the mother of eight children; namely, 
Luke W. , Jabez, Harmon, Fannie, Henry, 
Joseph, Adeline, and Catherine. She died in 
November, 1875. Luke W. , first son of Dea- 
con Joseph Stanton, was born in Huntington, 
April 17, 1806. He graduated from Bowdoin 
College, Brunswick, Me., and became a prac- 
tising physician in Amenia, N.Y. , where he 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



395 



died February 5, 1869. lie married Harriet 
Paine. Jabez Stanton was born July 16, 1808. 
He became station agent for the Boston & 
Albany Railroad in Huntington, a position 
which he satisfactorily tilled for man)- years. 
He died November 14, 1872. He married 
Rachel Hatch, and was the father of two chil- 
dren ; namely, Atherton and Adeline. Ath- 
erton is now manager of a brewery in Pittston, 
Pa. He has been twice married ; and fws sec- 
ond wife, who was Ella Collins, has borne 
him one son, Wilson. Adeline married H. 
Wilson Munson, and resides in Huntington. 
Harmon, third son of Deacon Joseph Stanton, 
was born December 4, 1S10. He followed 
agriculture in Iowa for a time, anil later 
moved- to ( lakland, Cal. He married for his 
first wife Catherine Stevens, who died ; and he 
wedded for his second wife Hannah Elder, 
who bore him two children, namely, James 
E. ami Emma A. Harmon Stanton died in 
California. His widow is still living. Fan- 
nie M. Stanton, daughter of Deacon Joseph 
Stanton, was born February 12, 181 3. She 
married for her first husband Hiram Chapman, 
by whom she had three children, namely : 
Henrv S. , now of New York ; Emerson, who 
died in Salisbury Prison while a soldier; and 
Irving, of New York. Her first husband hav- 
ing died, she wedded tor her second Moses 
Fisk, and died in January, 1879. 

Henry, the fifth child of Deacon Joseph 
Stanton, was horn April 5, 1815. He engaged 
in the lumber business, which he followed 
for many years with varying fortune, but, on 
the whole, was fairly successful. He became 
prominent in public affairs, and represented 
his district in the legislature in 1853. He 
was an active member of the Baptist church, 
was deeply interested in church work, and was 
Deacon many years. Henry Stanton was ac- 
cidentally killed in Huntington by being 



thrown from a load of logs, December 26, 
1874. He married Rosamond F. Knight in 
1840. She was born June 30, [819, daughter 
of Erastus Knight, of Norwich. She died 
August 23, 1889. Henry Stanton was by her 
the father of nine children. Four of them 
were as follows: Ellen R., who died Novem- 
ber 3, 1854; Lowell M., who is a gardener in 
Springfield, is married to Mary A. Hill, and 
had three children, namely, Grace B. and 
Lowell E. (both deceased since 1882), and 
Walter D. ; Flora Lucinda, born September 
15, 1851, residing in Huntington; and Willie 
P , born February 12. 1854, who died Sep- 
tember 10, 1856. 

Henry Ellsworth Stanton, the second child 
of Henry and Rosamond Stanton, was born in 
Knightville, January 23, 1846. At the age 
of seven years his parents moved to Middle- 
field, where he resided until 1861, when they 
removed to the old Stanton homestead in 
Huntington. On July 20, 1864, he enlisted 
in Company 11, Eighth Massachusetts Volun- 
teer Infantry, for one hundred days' service in 
the Civil War, and was discharged November 
10 of that year. In the spring of 1866 he 
went to Amenia, N.V. , where he took charge 
of his uncle's farm, and remained there for 
several months. He then learned the carriage- 
maker's trade; ami returning to Huntington 
carried on that business until 1870, when he 
purchased the Huntington Mills. Later he- 
sold the grist-mill, but still continued to oper- 
ate the saw-mill. Since 1885 he has engaged 
in contracting to a considerable extent. He 
constructed a poition of the water works at 
Springfield and at Meriden, Conn., and has 
built several miles of State roads. He was 
formerly a Republican in politics, but since 
[885 lias acted with the Prohibition party. 
He has served as Tax Collector and Constable 
for several years. lie united with the Baptist 



39 6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



church in 1865, and has been a Deacon since 
1890. On November 21; 1871, he married 
Eliza A. Smith, who was burn in Middlefield, 
Mass., May 20, 1846, and they had three chil- 
dren, namely: Emory E. ; Robert H., who 
died September 27, 1877; and Luke W. 

Frederick Potter Stanton, the sixth child of 
Henry Stanton, was bom in Middlefield, 
Mass., March 21, 1858. He grew to manhood 
at the Stanton homestead in Huntington, and 
after the death of his father he opened a coal 
and wood yard. lie subsequently dealt in ice, 
stone, brick, cement, etc., besides undertaking 
extensive contracts, in all of which enterprises 
he has been successful. He has always been 
an active Republican in politics, and is a 
member of the Baptist church. On May 7, 
1888, he married Hattie L. Smith, who was 
born in Middlefield, May 8, 1859, and has two 
children; namely, Helen L. and Louisa R. 
Albert H. Stanton, Henry Stanton's seventh 
child, was born January 23, i860. He has 
always followed mercantile pursuits, and is 
now Auditor of the town of Huntington. 
Edward W. Stanton, the eighth, was born 
January 9, 1862. He is a professional book- 
keeper, and was a member of the School Board 
of Huntington. George Knight Stanton, the 
ninth, was burn September 28, 1864. He 
learned the trade of a carpenter, which he 
followed for some time. He now owns the 
Stanton homestead, and devotes his energies 
to gardening and the milk business. 



l73)TOLSEY J. SEARLE, an experienced 
r^-| and efficient agriculturist occupying 

-li 9 l^ the fine estate known as the Park 

Hill Farm, in the Fourth Ward of Northamp- 
ton, Mass., was born in Huntington, Hamp- 
shire County, on April 29, 1849, son of Em- 
erson and Miriam (Sanford) Searle. His 



grandfather, Joel Searle, who was born on No- 
vember 18, 1774, was a prosperous farmer of 
Huntington. He was married on January 24, 
1799, to Miss Sophia Sheldon, who was born 
on January 29, 1777. Nine children were 
born of their union, four sons and five daugh- 
ters, all now deceased. Joel Searle died on 
January 4, i860, at eighty-six years of age, 
and his wife one year later at the age of 
eighty-four years and seven months. 

Emerson Searle, who was reared to the voca- 
tion of a farmer, settled in the town of Hunt- 
ington on a farm containing one hundred 
acres, which he increased to four hundred 
acres. Later he disposed of a part of his 
property, and moved to Northampton to where 
his son now lives. At his death, which oc- 
curred on May 1, 1894, he left quite an 
estate. Fie married on January 18, 1844, 
Miss Miriam Sanford, who was born in Hunt- 
ington on September 18, 18 12, and was a 
daughter of Holsey Sanford, of Saybrook, 
Conn. Her father was born on October 10, 
1765; and at fifteen years of age he became 
a soldier in the Revolutionary War, as a sub- 
stitute for a brother who was taken ill while 
in service. There were four sons and three 
daughters born of this union, of whom a brief 
record follows: Jerusha Gertrude, whose birth 
occurred May 21, 1846, lived to be but nine- 
teen years of age, dying of diphtheria, January 
24, 1866, in the week in which her wedding 
day was appointed; her sister, Julia Esther, 
who had died of diphtheria a few days before, 
on January 20, was eighteen years of age ; 
Holsey J. Searle is the subject of the brief 
biography below ; Miriam Adelia, born Octo- 
ber 22, 1850, is the wife of Wallace A. Mann, 
of 3 Smith Street, Northampton ; George E. 
Searle, born June 9, 1852, resides in East- 
hampton ; Abner Sanford Searle, born on 
Washington's Birthday in 1854, lives in Flad- 



^^^ ^p^l 





V f 



HOLSEY J. SEARLE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



399 



ley, Mass. ; and Charlie P. Searle, born Sep- 
tember io. 1856, lives on the old home- 
stead. Their mother died on July 13, [894, 
at almost eighty-two years of age. Both par- 
ents were members of the Congregational 
church. 

Holsey J. Searle acquired his early educa- 
tion in the district school, which was supple- 
mented by a course at Wilbraham Academy. 
He then turned his attention to agriculture, 
and for four years carried on a farm in Hunt- 
ington. Mass. Following that, he conducted 
a hotel for four years, after which he went to 
Nebraska, where he spent the following two 
years. He then came back to the Northamp- 
ton farm, for which his lather paid the sum of 
sixteen thousand dollars, and in 1875 built 
thereon a fine large barn, eighty by fifty feet, 
with an L thirty-eight by forty feet, and three 
stories in height, with a basement underneath. 
The homestead is still a part of his father's 
estate, of which he is the administrator. He 
is successfully engaged in mixed husbandry, 
and grows each year from six to fifteen 
acres of tobacco. The farm yields annually 
about one hundred tons of hay; and he keeps 
thirty cows, the milk from which is marketed 
in Northampton by a brother who has a milk 
route. 

Mr. Searle was married on May 8, 1878, to 
Miss Elizabeth Bassett, of Easthampton, a 
daughter of Joel L. and Phebe (Thompson) 
Bassett. Her father did an extensive business 
as a farmer, contractor, and manufacturer, and 
was very successful. He was thrice married, 
and by his first wife, whose maiden name was 
Phebe Thompson, had three children, namely: 
Louise, who died when five years old; Justin 
H. Bassett, who died at the early age of 
twenty-nine years, leaving a wife and daughter; 
and Elizabeth, Mrs. Searle. Mr. and Mrs. 
Searle have lost an infant daughter, and now 



have two living children; namely, Gertrude 
Phebe, who is twelve years of age; and Joel 
Bassett Searle, a lad of five years. 

In political principles Mr. Searle is a Re- 
publican. Lor two years he served as a mem- 
ber of the Common Council, and is now an 
Alderman. He is a member of Ionic Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., at Easthampton. An excel- 
lent portrait of this influential and valued citi- 
zen will be found on a neighboring page of 
this volume. 




YRON SMITH, a farmer of South 
Hadley, Mass.. was born in Groton, 
New London County, Conn., July 
16, 1825, son of Erastus T. and Rebecca (Bar- 
ber) Smith. Mr. Smith's paternal grandpar- 
ents were Gilbert and Prudence Smith. A 
fuller genealogy is contained in a work en- 
titled, "The History of the Smith Family," a 
copy of which is now in the possession of Mr. 
Byron Smith. 

Erastus T. Smith was born in Groton, 
Conn., June 24, 1789. In early manhood he 
engaged in mercantile pursuits, but subse- 
quently became a cotton and paper manufact- 
urer, conducting business for a number of 
years, first in Rochester, N.V., and later in 
South Hadley, finally retiring and returning 
to Rochester, where he died. He was three 
times married. His first wife, Rebecca Bar- 
ber, was born in Groton, Conn., and was a 
daughter of John Barber, a prosperous farmer 
of that town. She died in South Hadley, No- 
vember 11, 1838. His second wife. Lucia 
Mills, of West Hartford, Conn., died in 
Rochester. N.Y., in 1857. His third wife, 
Emily Perkins, of Litchfield, Conn., survives 
her husband and now resides in Rochester, 
N. V. 

By his first wife Mr. Smith had the follow- 
ing children: Erastus B., born in [812, now 



400 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



deceased; Frances R., who married first Isaac 
I. von, of Rochester, and, secondly,' Wells 
Southworth, of West Springfield, hut is no 
longer living; Gilbert Morgan, horn in 1818, 
who married Eliza Ely, and died November 12, 
1S91, was Postmaster of South Hadley during 
Lincoln's administration and until his death, 
November 12, 1891; Prudence E. , now de- 
ceased, the wife of Dr. H. W. Dean, of Roch- 
ester, N.Y. ; Byron, subject of this sketch; 
Henry Walworth, born in 1827, and now de- 
ceased, who married Mary Hooker; William 
Avery, born in 1829, who met his death by 
drowning in Rochester, N.Y., in 1S33; Helen 
F., born in 1833, who died in 185 1. 

Byron Smith, having received his education 
in Westfield, Mass., and at the public schools 
in South Hadley, at the age of twenty-two en- 
gaged in farming in South Hadley. He subse- 
quently erected a flour-mill upon his farm, 
which he conducted in company with his father 
for some years, giving it his chief attention. 
He finally abandoned the mill and returned to 
agriculture, devoting his energies to general 
farming and dairying, besides carrying on a 
considerable trade in eggs and farm produce. 
He has supplied the college at South Hadley 
with two hundred quarts of milk per day. 
His home farm consists of thirty acres of well- 
improved land, and besides this he owns other 
real estate in the town. Although he is now 
practically retired from active labor, he exer- 
cises a general oversight of his farm and per- 
forms some of the lighter duties connected 
therewith. 

In 1847 Mr. Smith was united in marriage 
to Nancy Dwight, of Belchertown, Mass., 
daughter of Justin and Eliza Dwight. Mr. 
and Mrs. Smith are the parents of two chil- 
dren, namely : Rebecca Frances, who resides 
at home; and Erastus Gilbert, a graduate of 
Amherst College and Gottingen, German}-, 



now a professor in the Beloit, Wis., College. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the 
Congregational church, and take active part 
in church work. Mr. Smith is Republican in 
politics, having cast his vote with the Repub- 
lican party since its formation. During the 
Civil War he was a member of the Board of 
Selectmen of his town. ' He has always been 
greatly interested in the college, and has-been 
their marshal for many years. He has also 
been prominently connected with all important 
improvements in the town during his time. 




B. CURTIS, a general farmer and 
stock-raiser of Worthington, was 
born in that town, November 4, 
1820, son of Elijah W. and Polly (Benjamin) 
Curtis. Mr. Curtis's grandfather, Beriah Cur- 
tis, was an early settler in Worthington, and 
purchased a part of the farm where his grand- 
son now resides. He cleared and improved 
the property, and followed agriculture success- 
fully until his death, which was caused by the 
explosion of his gun while engaged in hunting. 
Beriah Curtis was the father of two children; 
namely, Dillasy and Elijah. 

Elijah Curtis, father of Mr. Curtis, com- 
menced to learn the trade of a carpenter at the 
age of fourteen ; and when twenty-one years 
old he erected the house in which his son re- 
sides. He carried on the farm prosperously, 
and died September 13, 1847. He was a Re- 
publican in politics, and served as a Selectman 
for several years. Elijah Curtis was twice 
married. His first wife, now deceased, was a 
daughter of Samuel Morse, a resident of 
Worthington. His second wife, whose maiden 
name was Polly Benjamin, became the mother 
of six children, as follows: Mary, who died 
young; another child, who died in infancy; 
A. B. Curtis, the subject of this sketch ; Har- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



401 



monvD., who married Milton Nash; Betsey, 
who resides with Mr. Curtis; ami Mary, who 
married John II. Tinker, a farmer of Chester, 
and has since died. Her death occurred March 
13, i860. 

A. B. Curtis was educated in the district 
schools and Mountain Academy, and reared to 
agricultural life. He taught school in Middle- 
field, Peru, and Worthington for several terms, 
but has always resided upon the farm which he 
inherited after his father's death. He has cm- 
ducted general farming with good results, and 
is a successful stock-raiser. In politics he is 
a Republican, and has always supported the 
principles of that party with zeal. He has 
been a Selectman for several years, and has 
rendered good service to the town in other po- 
sitions of trust. 

On September 13, 1846, Mr. Curtis was 
united in marriage to his first wife, whose 
maiden name was . Fidelia H. Harrington. 
She was born in Rowe, Mass., in 1827, daugh- 
ter of Thomas Harrington. Mr. Curtis's first 
wife died March 3, 1863. On February 10, 
[864, he wedded for his second wife Mary 
Emily Noble, a native of Washington, Mass., 
where she was born October 9, 1836. Mr. and 
Mrs. Curtis have three children, namely: 



Mary I-"., born February 



[868; Alden 



Noble, born February 16, 1876; and Elmer 
Noble, born July 21, (879. Mr. and Mrs. 
Curtis and children are members of the Con- 
gregational church. 



fr^\ A. GRIDLEY, a general merchant 

I Sp of South Hadley, was born in Granby, 
V»^__^ Mass., October 27, 1845, son of 
Addison and Sibel (Avers) Gridley. Mr. 
Gridley's grandfather, the Rev. Elijah Grid- 
lev-, moved from Mansfield, Conn., to Granby, 
and became pastor of the church in that town, 



where he was a well-known and much esteemed 
clergyman. He also engaged in agriculture, 
and resided in Granby until his death, which 
occurred June 10, 1834. 

.Addison Gridley was born in Granby in 
1801. He was twice married. His first mar- 
riage was with Sibel Ayers, a native of 
Granby, who made him the father of five chil- 
dren, of whom the subject of this sketch is the 
only survivor. His second wife is the present 
Mis. Gridley, whose maiden name was Maria 
Burnham. 

C. A. Gridley was educated in the schools 
of Granby and South Hadley, and later at- 
tended the business college in Springfield, 
Mass. He commenced life for himself at the 
age of twenty, and worked for a time in his 
native State. He then went to La Salle, 111., 
and, after remaining there for a time, returned 
to Massachusetts, and in 1871 came to South 
Hadley, where he engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness with Mr. Montague. The next year Mr. 
Montague sold his interest to W. A. Warner, 
who, after remaining one year, sold his in- 
terest to E. W. Gridley, brother of C. A., 
after which the business was continued under 
the firm name of C. A. Gridley & Co. In 
1876 the store was destroyed by fire, but was 
rebuilt; and later, selling out to his brother, 
C. A. Gridley went to Brattleboro, Vt., where 
he conducted a boot ami shoe business for two 
years. He then returned to South Hadley 
again, and resumed business at the old store, 
from which his brother retired. It is at pres- 
ent a general country store, well stocked with 
the varied line of goods usually carried in such 
an establishment; and it has a large amount of 
trade. He has also invested in real estate, 
carries on an insurance business, anil owns the 
home farm in Granby. 

On June 4, 1874, Mr. Gridley was united in 
marriage to Martha I'. Miller, who was born 



402 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in South Hadley in 1852, daughter of Edward 
C. and Elizabeth Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Grid- 
ley have two children : James Leonard and 
Bessie Maria. They are active members of the 
Congregational church. 

Mr. (iridic}' is independent in his political 
views, believing that the most capable should 
serve in offices of public trust. He has been 
prominently identified with political questions, 
and was a member of the School Board for four 
years. He is also a Justice of the Peace 
and a Notary Public. His successful life is 
due entirely to his own energy and business 
ability. 



EV. EDWARD E. KEEDY, pastor 




of the Eirst Congregational Church of 
s V_ _, Hadley, was born in Rohrersville, 
Washington County, Md., January 6, 1869, 
son of the Rev. David D. and Lucincla (Brech- 
bill) Keedy. The ancestors of the family 
were early settlers in Washington County, the 
village of Keedysville being named in their 
honor. The Rev. David Keedy was connected 
with the United Brethren church, serving the 
church for a long time as Presiding Elder. 
He died in Keedysville, on January 12, 1895. 
His wife is still living, and resides in Keedys- 
ville. Mr. Keedy's family consisted of nine 
children, all of whom are living. They are: 
Daniel, Louisa, Lillian, Cyrus, Horace, Ed- 
ward E., John, Anna, and Homer. 

Edward E. Keedy, after acquiring the rudi- 
ments of knowledge, began his more advanced 
studies in the college at Lebanon Valley in the 
fall of 1885. He graduated from that institu- 
tion in 1889, and then attended the Yak- 
Divinity School at New Haven for two years, 
and for one year filled the position of principal 
of the high school in Rohrersville, Md. At 
the end of this period he returned to the Yak- 
Divinity School, and, after a year's further 



study, was graduated, remaining in New 
Haven as a graduate student for one year. In 
April, 1894, he came to Hadley, and took 
charge of the First Congregational Church, in 
which position he has since remained. He 
was ordained to the ministry on October 17, 
1894. The church of which he is pastor was 
organized in 1658, and is well known as one 
of the oldest churches in the State and the old- 
est west of Springfield. 



HARLES W. FELTON, a stirring 
and enterprising farmer of Enfield, 



V»i^_^- was born in the town of Ware, Sep- 
tember 9, 1859, son of Daniel B. and Arvilla 
(Grover) Felton. 

The first representative of the Felton family 
in this country came from England in the per- 
son of Nathaniel Felton. He was born about 
the year 1615, and settled in Salem, Mass., 
when only sixteen or seventeen years of age. 
In the course of time he became a prominent 
citizen of that place, winning the esteem of 
his fellow-men as a man of good judgment and 
integrity. He married Miss Mary Skelton, a 
daughter of the Rev. Samuel Skelton, who was 
the first minister of Salem. Mr. Felton died 
on July 30, 1705, at the advanced age of 
ninety years; and his wife died on May 8, 
1701, aged seventy-five years. Ebenezer Fel- 
ton, son of Nathaniel Felton, born in Salem in 
1685, was a carpenter by trade. He was one 
of the first settlers of New Salem, Mass., to 
which place he went with his five sons in 
1740, when fifty-five years of age. In Novem- 
ber, 1742, he and his wife were transferred 
from Salem church to the church in New 
Salem. He was the first Deacon of the 
church, and was the first Town Clerk in New 
Salem. He was one of the Selectmen in 
1753, the year the town was incorporated. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4°3 



He died in 1776, aged ninety years. His 
wife, it is believed, lived several years after 
her husband's death. 

Amos Felton, grandson oi Ebenezer, and 
grandfather of Charles W. Felton, was born in 
Shutesbury, Mass., December 5, 1779. ^ L> 
followed the calling of a farmer throughout his 
life, residing in the town of New Salem, which 
was formerly a part of Shutesbury. He died 
in New Salem on April 24, 1S50. For his 
first wife he married Miss Lydia King, who 
was horn January 27, 1779, am ' was a daughter 
of Samuel King, of New Salem. Nine chil- 
dren of this union were reared, but all have 
since died. Their mother's death occurred 
July 31, 1839. Mr. Felton's second union 
was with Mrs. Eunice Thomas. She died in 
1874, leaving no children. 

Daniel 15. Felton, who was a native of what 
is now called New Salem, Mass., was born 
August 31, 1814. Soon after leaving his par- 
ental home to start in life for himself, he set- 
tled in Abington, Mass., and remained there- 
until about the year [857, when he removed to 
Ware. Here, in company with others, he en- 
gaged in a large lumber business, and operated 
a saw-mill. He died in Ware, August 24, 
1 861. He was an attendant of the Universal- 
is! church, and was a Republican in politics. 
He was twice married. His first union was 
with Miss Lydia Felton. She died on Febru- 
ary iS, 1847, leaving five children. After 
her death he married Miss Arvilla Grover, who 
was born in Denmark, Me., in 1835, daughter 
of Lemuel and Hannah (Long) Grover, of Den- 
mark, Me. Six children were horn of the lat- 
ter union. Of all Daniel B. Felton's children 
seven are now living, as follows: Mary L. , 
who married William Wheeler, residing in 
Worcester, Mass. ; Hattie A., the wife of Ar- 
thur Hunt, of Brockton, Mass. ; Daniel T. , re- 
siding in Worcester; Lydia A. R. , who mar- 



ried Lyman Hathaway, of Ware; John W. , 
residing in Hinsdale; Webster I". , who lives 
in Greenwich; and Charles W. , the subject ol 
this article. The deceased were: Henry C, 
Joanna 1?., Ida E. , ami Frank B. After her 
husband's death Mrs. Arvilla Felton was 
joined in marriage with Sidney Richards, of 
Enfield, where he resided, on the farm now 
owned by her son, Charles W. Felton. This 
farm had been in the Richards family since 
about 1800, having been first occupied by 
James Richards and his wife, formerly Sarah 
Rich. They were succeeded at their death 
by their son Sidney, who was bom on Septem- 
ber 7, "1797. He died January 9, iS.Xi. His 
union with Mrs. Felton was blessed by the 
birth of a daughter, Susan A., now the wife of 
Edgar O. Cogswell, and residing in Allston, 
near Boston, Mass. Mrs. Richards died Feb- 
ruary 23, 1895. 

Charles W. Felton was five years old at the 
time his mother settled in Enfield. He ac- 
quired a good practical education in the com- 
mon schools of Enfield and at New Salem 
.Academy, after which he turned his attention 
to fanning, and has continued in that occupa- 
tion since. He now has a choice farm of two 
hundred acres, where he successfully carries 
on mixed farming and dairying. He keeps 
fifty head of cattle. The farm buildings have 
been remodelled and improved since he pur- 
chased the place. Everywhere can be seen 
evidences of the proprietor's enterprise and 
good judgment. 

In January, 1880, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Angenette I. Cogswell, who 
was born in New Salem, June 22, 1861, a 
daughter of Henry and Lura (Underwood) 
Cogswell. Her father is successfully engaged 
in fanning and lumbering in New Salem. 
Her mother died on July 23, 1873. .Mr. 
Cogswell entered into a second mania-. 



4°4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



with Miss Faustina A. Stone, on June 2, 
1 S74. Mr. and Mrs. Felton have no children. 
Mr. Felton casts his vote with the Republican 
party, and for several years he has been chair- 
man of the Republican Town Committee. He- 
takes much interest in the welfare of his town, 
and for several years has served faithfully as 
Assessor. He has also filled the office of 
Road Commissioner since it was created. He 
is a member of Bethel Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 
Mrs. Felton is a communicant of the Congre- 
gational church at Enfield. 



{ 35eORGE C. MONTAGUE, a wide- 
V [3 I awake, progressive, and industrious 
agriculturist of the town of Granby, 
owns and occupies a farm that, in regard to its 
appointments, compares favorably with the 
best in the locality. The neat and orderly ap- 
pearance of the property makes manifest to the 
most casual observer the thrift and care of the 
proprietor, and most conclusively his thorough 
understanding of his business, as well as the 
good judgment he exercises in its management. 
He is a native of Massachusetts, born in 
Wilbraham, March 5, 1845. Mr. Montague, 
having married Jane C, daughter of Amos and 
Ruth (Clark) Ferry, of Granby, on April 2J, 
[864, then began farming on his own account. 
He continued in that occupation until 1S81, 
when he had the misfortune to be burned out, 
losing all of his buildings and stock. Instead 
of rebuilding he then bought the farm adjoin- 
ing, with the buildings upon it. He now 
resides there, is very pleasantly located, and 
continues his business as a farmer. Mr. 
Montague takes an interest in politics, work- 
ing for the prosperity of the Republican party. 
He has served the town in man)' ways, and is 
now filling the office of sexton. He is a great 
admirer of fine stock, and is especially inter- 



ested in nice horses. He is a liberal contrib- 
utor to the advancement of the religious and 
moral culture of the town. 




HARLES S. CROUCH, an enterpris- 
ing real estate dealer in Northampton, 

^ - who is also a practical carpenter 

and builder, was born in Wardsboro, Vt., Au- 
gust 17, 1829, son of Elisha and Olive 
(Brown) Crouch. His father was a twin 
brother of Elijah Crouch, of Stowe, Mass., 
and his mother was a native of Princeton. 
They had two sons and four daughters. One 
son passed away in infancy; and one daughter, 
Lucinda, wife of Zimri Scott, a farmer in Gill, 
is yet living. 

Charles S. Crouch attended school in Brat- 
tleboro, Vt., Chicopee and Springfield, Mass., 
studying in the latter city at the Lawton Pri- 
vate School. When a boy he sold papers on 
the street in Springfield, and developed a keen 
business talent, selecting the most taking 
topics to call out when vending his wares. In 
his seventeenth year he began to learn the car- 
penter's trade, which he worked at in Spring- 
field and Chicopee. With the exception of 
three years when he was engaged in manufact- 
uring tools in Northampton, he has since fol- 
lowed this vocation. A man of foresight and 
untiring energy, he deals extensively in real 
estate, buying large tracts of vacant land, which 
he divides into house lots, laying out streets 
and building good houses for sale. 

On June 26, 1846, Mr. Crouch was united 
in marriage to Susan M., daughter of Isaac 
Alvord, of Northampton. She passed away in 
March, 1 S 5 5 , leaving three children, who are 
located as follows: Nellie, wife of Samuel L. 
Graves, a decorator, is living at Buffalo, N.Y., 
and has five children; Emma, wife of Elbridge 
Wait, lives in Hartford, Conn., and has one 




CHARLES S. CROUCH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



i : 



son; Alice, wife of Henry Lander, resides in 
Boston. Mr. Crouch subsequently married 
Jane B. Bardwell, of Hartford, Conn., who 
for many years was a teacher in the public 
schools; and one child was born to them, 
Anna Elizabeth, who died in infancy. Their 
pleasant home at 66 Pleasant Street, in which 
they have lived for the past fifteen years, Mr. 
Crouch built in 1880. In politics Mr. Crouch 
is a Republican. He has been a member of 
the Common Council two terms, and is serv- 
ing the second year as Alderman of Ward One. 
In religious belief he is a Congregational ist. 
On a page near by will be seen a portrait of 
this well-known, progressive, and eminently 
useful citizen. 




EV. WILLIAM E. DICKINSON, 

pastor of the College Mission Church 
in Amherst, was born in North 
Amherst, June 11, 1832, son of Daniel and 
Tammy (Eastman) Dickinson, respectively na- 
tives of Amherst and Granby, Mass. Mr. 
Dickinson comes of a distinguished family 
which up to the present time has numbered 
many prominent professional men among its 
members. His grandfather, Azariah Dickin- 
son, was an early settler of Amherst, he and 
his brother Oliver having been large land- 
owners and wealthy citizens in the town. His 
wife also, Mary Eastman, was a member of 
a prominent family. They both lived to an 
advanced age, rearing five children, all of 
whom became prominent in church work. 
They were: Ransom, a Deacon; Daniel, the 
father of William E. ; Austin, a minister; 
Baxter, a doctor of divinity; and Hannah, 
wife of Deacon Austin Loom is. 

Daniel Dickinson grew to manhood in Am- 
herst, receiving his education in the schools of 
that town and in Hadley Academy. His chief 



occupation was agriculture, and he was a 1 
land-owner in the town. Politically, Mr. 
Dickinson was first a Whig and then a Re- 
publican. He represented his district in the 
legislature, was Selectman of the town for 
many terms, .Assessor, and Justice of the 
Peace. He was often called upon to settle 
differences respecting estates. In military 
matters also he was interested, and acted as 
Captain of the State militia. In religious be- 
lief he was a Congregational ist, and was influ- 
ential among the members of the church in 
North Amherst. He died December 25, 1875, 
aged eighty-two years. He was twice mar- 
ried, and was the father of two children by his 
first wife and of six by his second. The latter 
was the mother of the subject of this sketch. 
She lived eighty-six years, passing away in 
1887. Of these children four are now living, 
namely: Daniel, a farmer in Illinois; William 
E., the subject, as before mentioned; Sarah, 
wife of the Rev. Frederick Phelps, of Whit- 
ing, Yt. ; and Charles R., a farmer residing 
on the old Oliver Dickinson farm in North 
Amherst. Louisa, wife of the Rev. J. M. 
Green, D.D., of Lowell, died at the age of 
fifty-one; Edward B., a Sergeant in Company 
D, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Massachusetts 
Volunteers, died when a young man of twenty- 



eight, soon after the 



se of the war, from a 



disease contracted while in the service; and 
one child died in infancy. 

William E. Dickinson received his early 
education in the public schools of Amherst and 
Easthampton. He graduated from Amherst 
College in T S 5 5 . He subsequently studied 
theology at the Union Theological Seminary, 
New York, and at Andover. lie graduated at 
the latter place in 1858, and was ordained 
at Orleans in i860. He was in poor health at 
the time of his ordination, but bravely took 
up the duties of his vocation. His first charge 



408 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



as a regular pastor was at Canton, Mass., 
where he remained four years, subsequently 
filling pulpits at Walpole, N. H., and at Chic- 
opee, Mass. In the latter place he remained 
twelve years. He was dismissed from Cbico- 
pee to accept a call to Fitzwilliam, N. H. 
After four years of service there he removed to 
Amherst, where he is now pastor of the Col- 
lege Mission Church. He is enjoining by 
word and deed the great principle of Chris- 
tianity, "Love thy neighbor as thyself," while 
blessed in return by the love of all in his 
flock. 

In i860 Mr. Dickinson was united in mar- 
riage with Eliza H. Hobart, a native of Am- 
herst, daughter of Joshua Hobart, an early 
settler of the same town. Their union was 
blessed by one son, Edward B. , who was born 
in Amherst, and is now a leading dentist there, 
an adept in his profession and a capable busi- 
ness man. 

Mr. Dickinson votes the Republican ticket. 
He has been active and efficient in educational 
matters, having been called to serve on various 
school boards during his pastorates both in 
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He and 
his wife are Congregationalists in religious be- 
lief. Mr. Dickinson belongs to one of the old 
families of the town, which for several genera- 
tions has sustained a reputation for probity, in- 
tellectual ability, and prominence in church 
work. 




HARLES S. RECORD, a prominent 
resident of Greenwich, was born in 



Barre, Mass., January 26, 1 8 1 9, son 
of Daniel and Prudence (Warner) Record. 
Mr. Record's grandfather was an early settler 
in old Middleboro, Mass., and was the father 
of six children. Daniel Record, son of Grand- 
father Record, was a native of Middleboro. 
He was reared to agricultural work, which he 



subsequently followed, together with other oc- 
cupations. He settled in Barre, where he re- 
sided the greater part of his life, and died at 
the age of fifty-six years. His wife was born 
in New Braintree, Mass., of which her father 
was one of the early settlers. He was a typi- 
cal New England pioneer, sturdy and industri- 
ous, whose prosperity was the result of energy 
and perseverance. His children were large 
of frame, possessed robust constitutions, and 
were noted for their longevity. Mrs. Daniel 
Record bore her husband five children, three 
of whom grew to maturity. The only survivor 
now is Charles S. , the subject of this sketch. 
Those deceased were: Adams, an infant; 
Martha H. ; and Andrew C. The mother 
lived nearly ninety-two years. 

Charles S. Record came to Greenwich in 
early boyhood and attended the district schools 
of that town. His school clays ended prema- 
turely, as he was bound out to General John 
Warner, of Greenwich, when quite young. He 
learned the scythe-maker's and blacksmith's 
trades, remaining with Mr. Warner for twenty- 
one years. In 1855 he started a shop for gen- 
eral blacksmith work and jobbing, which he 
conducted successfully for twenty years. At 
the expiration of that time he sold his shop 
and has since been engaged in various occupa- 
tions. He was well known throughout the 
county as a first-class horse-shoer; and he has 
now a high reputation as a horse-trainer, which 
is his present calling. He has been an ener- 
getic and industrious man. Temperate in his 
habits through life, he is still alert and active, 
although nearing his fourscore years. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican, and has long been 
identified with public affairs in his locality. 
He has served as a Constable, Collector, Road 
Commissioner, and moderator of Town Meet- 
ings for several terms, but has now retired 
from official duties. 




GEORGE H. RAY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



41 1 



On January 24, 1850, Mr. Record was 
united in marriage to Maria L. Loud. She 
was born in South Weymouth, Mass., daughter 
of Cyrus and Louisa Loud. Mr. and Mrs. 
Record have one daughter, Clara Louisa, who 
is now the wife of Ambrose Walker, and re- 
sides in Amesbury, Mass. Mr. Record is 
held in high estimation by the people of 
Greenwich. He is liberal in his religious 
views, and both he and his wife were members 
of the Congregational church choir for fifty 
years. He occupies a pleasant homestead in 
the village, comprising about twenty acres oi 
land. 



/^TlORGE H. RAY, Assistant Treas- 
VJ mT urer ar >d Secretary of the Nonotuck 

Silk Company at Florence, Mass., 
whose portrait is presented in this connection, 
is a capable and efficient business man, and is 
held in high regard as an eminently useful and 
worthy citizen. He is of Connecticut birth, 
having entered upon this stage of existence, 
February 22, 1843, in the town of Canterbury, 
Windham County. His father, George K. 
Ray, now living with him in Florence, was 
burn at Griswold, Conn., February 13, 1818, 
Mm of Daniel and Harriet (Tracy) Ray. 
Grandfather Ray was a fanner. His other 
children were: a daughter, who died; and a 
son, Moses T. Ray, who is a prosperous agri- 
culturist in Mendota, La Salle County, 111. 

George K. Ray was a wheelwright, and was 
busily employed at his trade in Canterbury, 
Conn., during the most of his working years. 
In May, 1842, he married Elizabeth Burnett, 
of Canterbury ; and they became the parents 
of four children, of whom two, a son and a 
daughter, died in infancy, George H. and 
Marion F. being the only ones now surviving. 
The latter is book-keeper at the Universalis! 
Publishing House on West Street, Boston. 



George H. Ray was reared to agricultural 
pursuits on the parental farm, and was a con- 
stant and diligent pupil at the district school, 
where lie acquired a substantial education, 
being fitted for the teacher's calling, in which 
he engaged two winters during his early man- 
hood. In the second year of the Rebellion his 
patriotism was aroused to such an extent that, 
although he had not yet attained his majority, 
he enlisted, in August, 1862, in Company A, 
Eighteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. 
He was at the forefront in many of the impor- 
tant conflicts of the war, and on June 15, 
1863, at the battle of Winchester, Ya. , was 
taken prisoner, being subsequently confined, 
in durance most vile and abominable, at Libby 
Prison and Belle Isle, until he was ex- 
changed. He was mustered out at Hartford 
in July, 1865, having served three years lack- 
ing one month. On his return to civil life 
Mr. Ray taught school one term at Leeds, 
coming thence to Northampton, December 9, 
1865. He was first engaged in a mercantile 
business for a few months, giving it up to ac- 
cept the position of book-keeper for the Nono- 
tuck Silk Company, beginning his duties Feb- 
ruary II, 186". Mr. Ray has been connected 
with this company a period of twenty-eight 
years, and has occupied his present office as 
Secretary and Assistant Treasurer of the com- 
pany for the past ten years, a sufficient indica- 
tion of his ability ami trustworthiness. Lie is 
likewise a stockholder and a Director of the 
John M. Leonard Silk Company. 

On May 21, 186;, Mr. Ray was united in 
marriage with Miss C. Emily Chesson, of 
Northampton, a daughter of Frederick W. 
and Ann J. Chesson, of Chatham, England, 
being one of their four children that came 
to America. Five children have blessed the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Ray, one of whom, 
George Burnett, died January 28, 1871, aged 



4 I2 



I5IOGRAPIIICAL REVIEW 



three years; Annie James Ray, the wife of 
Harold Chesson, of this place, has one son; 
Benjamin Eastwood Ray was graduated from 
Amherst College in 1895; Elizabeth Chesson 
Ray was graduated from the Northampton High 
School in the class of 1895; and Julia Mar- 
ion, a young lady of sixteen years, is still a 
student. 

In local affairs Mr. Ray has always evinced 
genuine interest, and in the performance of 
public duties has shown the same efficient 
capability that has marked his private labors, 
devoting to them his time and attention in a 
generous measure. In politics he uniformly 
casts his vote with the Republican party, and 
for three years was a valued member of the 
School Board ; he was also a member of the 
first City Council. He is also a Trustee of 
the Lilly Library. Socially, he is a Master 
Mason and a member of the William L. Baker 
Post, No. 86, Grand Army of the Republic, 
having been Commander two years. He and 
his wife are valued members of the Congrega- 
tional Church, in which he is Deacon. 




cACE S. TAYLOR, a progressive 
agriculturist of Granby, was born 

i 9 ^ , March 19, 1866, son of Frederick 

and Mary I. (Cowles) Taylor. Mr. Taylor 
began the battle of life when a youth of eigh- 
teen years. He first obtained employment as a 
clerk in the store of J. S. Preston & Co., 
gentlemen's furnishing goods, in Holyoke. 
Afterward he occupied a similar position in 
the store of Brown Brothers. Having re- 
mained in Holyoke three years he went West, 
and spent a season visiting in Chicago and in 
the neighboring city of Rockford. Returning 
East in 1889, he was employed in the cream- 
ery for two years. After this he bought his 
present property, formerly known as the Steb- 



bins farm, which he has since conducted very 
successfully. It contains one hundred and 
sixty acres of land. The larger part of it is 
in a high state of cultivation, and gives fine 
crops of corn and hay each season. He also 
keeps a large dairy, selling the milk to the 
creamery, of which he is a Director. 

On February 15, 1893, Mr. Taylor was 
united in marriage with Miss Jessie May Bell, 
a native of Bethel, Conn., and a daughter of 
the Rev. R. C. Bell, pastor of the Granby 
Congregational Church, of which both Mr. 
and Mrs. Taylor are estimable members. Po- 
litically, Mr. Taylor is an adherent of the 
Republican party. A worthy and valued mem- 
ber of society, his reputation for integrity and 
honorable dealing is unblemished. 




RS. EUNICE MARIA BLAIR, a 
highly esteemed resident of Ware, 
is the widow of the late Francis 
Blair, who passed away at his home on West 
Street, on August 3, 1883, when but forty- 
seven years of age. He was born in the west 
part of the town of Ware, and was a son of 
Ambrose and Sarah (Dunbar) Blair, the former 
of whom was a native of Warren, Mass. His 
father was a successful farmer, spent his life 
in cultivating the land, and died in 1886, 
eighty-four years of age. His wife, who was 
a daughter of Seth Dunbar, of Ware, reared 
him a son and daughter, respectively named 
Francis and Almira. The latter died at the 
home of her brother's widow in 1S93, when 
fifty-four years of age. She was a lady of the 
most amiable disposition. For many years 
she gave the most tender care to her invalid 
mother, who died in 1879, when about sixty- 
five years of age. 

Mrs." Blair is a daughter of Deacon Milton 
and Maria (Snell) Lewis, respectively natives 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



•U3 



11I Dedham and Ware, Ma^. Her father was 
a well-informed man, and taught school both 
before and after his marriage. The latter part 
of his life, however, was chiefly spent in agri- 
culture, mi his farm in the West Parish of 
Ware. He was a zealous member of the Con- 
gregational church, in which he served fur 
many years as Deacon. On April 6, 1 83 1 , 
he was united in marriage with Miss Maria 
Snell, who bore him eight children. Of these 
a son died in infancy, and Nelson C. who 
lived but seventeen years. Thomas A., whose 
death occurred when he was thirty years old, 
was a graduate of Amherst College in the class 
of 1859, and had prepared for the ministry. 
He served as chaplain in the Civil War; and 
at the time of his death, in 1S65, was engaged 
to be married. William E. died in 1891, at 
Lake Geneva, Wis., leaving a widow and seven 
children. He enlisted for service in the 
Civil War as a private in Company E of the 
Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment, with 
which he shared in many hard-fought battles, 
and was wounded in the last. When mustered 
out of service he had been promoted to the 
rank of Lieutenant. He was a man of fine in- 
tellectual ability, an earnest Christian worker, 
and was associated at one time with D. L. 
Moody. For fourteen vears he was connected 
with the Young Men's Christian Association, 
and was beloved anil highly esteemed in the 
West. He served as State Secretary, and was 
at one time a member of the legislature. The 
next in order is Eunice Maria, the subject of 
this sketch. Martha M., the wife of Dr. 
C. B. King, of Belchertown, died in March, 
1 89 1 , aged forty-nine years, leaving one son. 
Henry M. died when two and a half years old ; 
and another child died in infancy. Their 
father's death occurred on September 26, 1885, 
at the age of seventy-seven years; and their 
mother died three years later, in the eighty- 



first year of her age. The)' rest in the West 
Parish burial-ground 111 Ware. 

Eunice Maria Lewis received a good com- 
mon-school education, and prior to her mar- 
riage was successfully engaged in teaching. 
On September 13, 1866, she was united in 
marriage with Francis Blair. He was a man 
of superior business ability, and in addition 
to managing his farm, he devoted much time 
and attention to other business and to town 
affairs. He dealt quite largely in real estate 
and mortgages, and at his death left besides 
his farm the present large farm-house and barn 
erected by him in 1862. He was interested in 
the Otis Company, to whom he proved a valu- 
able assistant. Though not a member of any 
church, his influence was always mi the side oi 
uprightness, integrity, and truth. In politics 
he was a loyal Republican, and for sevi 
years he was Selectman and Road Commis- 
sioner. After their marriage he and Mis. 
Blair took up their residence in the house now 
occupied by her alone. She lust two infant 
daughters. A sun and two daughters are liv- 
ing, namely: Lewis Monroe Blair, residing 
on the farm and conducting it, who has a wife 
and two sons; Mary Estella, who recently 
graduated from the Ware High School; and 
Alice Gertrude, fourteen vears of age, who is 
now attending the high school. Mis. Blair 
and her children are the last representatives oi 
the family, with the exception of an uncle, 
Royal I*".. Blair, who resides in Springfield, 
Mass. 



fsfrONATHAN COWLS, a retired farmer 
of North Amherst, was born in that 
town. May 4. [822, son of Jonathan 
and Esther (Graves) Cowls. Mr. Cowls's 
grandfather, David Cowls, was born August 
11, 1 74 1, and was one of six brother, who 
settled in that part of the State. He was an 



4'4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



early settler in North Amherst, and cleared a 
<rood farm from the wilderness. He followed 
agriculture successfully, and died November 
1 8, 1 8 1 7 . He was a prominent citizen of the 
town, honorable and upright in all his deal- 
ings, and was a leader of the church choir for 
many years. His wife, Sarah Eastman before 
marriage, was born in Hampshire County, 
January 28, 1744, daughter of J. Eastman. 
She became the mother of five children: 
David, Sally, Joseph, Silas, and Jonathan. 
She died August 14, 181 5. 

Jonathan Cowls, father of Mr. Cowls, was 
born in North Amherst, December 2, 1781. 
He succeeded to the possession of the home- 
stead. He educated himself, studying nights 
by the light of a pine knot, and in his young 
manhood taught school. He became an exten- 
sive farmer, owning over three hundred acres 
of land, and was prominent in public affairs, 
being chairman of the Board of Selectmen for 
some years. He possessed sound judgment, 
and his advice was often in demand. He was 
a Congregationalist in religious belief and a 
liberal supporter of that church in North 
Amherst. Jonathan Cowls died at the old 
homestead in North Amherst, January 181 
1866. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Esther Graves, was a native of Sunderland, 
Mass., and became the mother of eight chil- 
dren, as follows : Justin, Erastus, Lois, Ira, 
and Esther, all of whom died young; Sarah, 
who married George Bridgman, and resides in 
Michigan; Ransom, a prosperous farmer of 
Amherst; and Jonathan, the subject of this 
sketch. The mother died June 20, 1868. 

Jonathan Cowls grew to manhood at the 
Cowls homestead in North Amherst. He 
commenced his education in the schools of his 
native town, and completed his studies at Bel- 
chertown and Lee. He adopted agriculture 
as an occupation, residing with his parents 



until their death, after which he took charge 
of the home farm, and conducted it success- 
fully for many years. He was an extensive 
dealer in stock, and also devoted considerable 
attention to dairying. He carried on lumber- 
ing operations for several winters, and in all 
of his undertakings has displayed a commend- 
able spirit of energy and perseverance. He 
retired from active labor in 1893, at which 
time he removed to his present residence. 
Mr. Cowls is independent in politics, and is 
a supporter of President Cleveland. He has 
been a member of the Board of Selectmen, 
and has held other town offices. 

On July 1, 1851, Mr. Cowls was united in 
marriage to Sarah M. Dickinson. She was 
born in Amherst, March 3, 1828, daughter of 
Walter and Lydia (Dickinson) Dickinson, 
both of whom were old residents of Amherst. 
Mr. and Mrs. Cowls have five children, 
namely: Walter D., born June 30, 1852, 
residing at the homestead; Newton E., born 
April 11, 1854, a farmer in California; Abbie 
Grace, born August 21, 1856, who died Octo- 
ber 24, 1865; Sarah Janette, born December 
17, 1858, married to Francis Frary, and resid- 
ing in Minneapolis; and Nellie G., born 
December 31, 1866, married to Edwin Dick- 
inson, and residing in North Amherst. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cowls are members of the 
Congregational church, in which Mr. Cowls is 
an active worker and now Trustee. 



fs^fAMES D. ATKINS, a venerable and 
honored resident of Florence, Mass., is 
living in pleasant retirement with his 
wife at their beautiful home, 18 Pine Street, 
excepting when they are travelling or sojourn- 
ing for the winter in the sunny South, 
whither they are driven by the chilly moun- 
tain breezes that sweep across Western Massa- 



\r 




JAMES D. ATKINS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4i7 



chusetts. He was born in Boston, February 
17, 1 S 1 7. His father, John Atkins, a native 
of Nova Scotia, born in 1795, was for many 
years a resident of that historic locality known 
as the North End, once inhabited by the 
leading families of Boston. John Atkins 
married Jane Dunn, of Maine, the daughter 
of a Commissary-general in the Revolution- 
ary War, and reared nine children, five sons 
and four daughters. James D. and his brother 
John, Jr., late of Boston, now living with a 
daughter in Canada, are the only survivors of 
the family. 

James D. Atkins received but a limited 
education in the public and private schools of 
his native city, being bound out at the age of 
seventeen years to learn stereotypography at 
the office of the University Press in Cam- 
bridge, Mass., where he worked eight years. 
When the constitution of the Florence com- 
munity was being printed there in 1842, Mr. 
Atkins was favorably impressed by its resolu- 
tions, and decided at once to cast his lot with 
this energetic and enterprising people. Ac- 
cordingly, before the close of that year he 
journeyed to Florence by way of Wilbrabam. 
He was soon after engaged by the Northamp- 
ton Educational Association to learn the 
dyer's trade of the Englishman then in charge 
of that department of the silk industry, they 
being desirous that a member of the commu- 
nity should fill the position. Mr. Atkins 
became a thorough master of that business, 
which was then in its incipiency here, and for 
two years managed it alone. After that he 
had to have assistants, the force being grad- 
ually increased from time to time. His pay 
was also advanced as his labors and responsi- 
bility became greater, so that during his last 
years of service he received an annual salary 
of twenty-five hundred dollars. He had 
always commanded good wages, and, when a 



young man, would save up a hundred dollars 
or so, and then take a trip somewhere for 
pleasure or in the interest of his work, having 
thus been able to come to this place. ' The 
first hundred which he saved after coming here 
Mr. Atkins invested in stock in the silk com- 
pany for which he was employed, afterward 
buying more, and was a Director in the works 
for several years, until selling out his stock 
in 1887. 

On entering the factory to learn his trade, 
Mr. Atkins found many young women em- 
ployed in the Nonotuck Silk Works; and the 
first of these to whom he was introduced was 
a winsome maiden, named Octavia Melvina 
Damon. Both were mutually attracted; and 
the acquaintance thus formed ripened into 
love, and culminated in the marriage of the 
young couple on September 13, 1844. Fifty 
years later, assisted by their children, grand- 
children, kinsfolk, neighbors, and friends, 
they celebrated their golden wedding, about 
six hundred guests participating in the festiv- 
ities of that happy occasion, and the Rev. Mr. 
Hinckley reading an original poem of fifty- 
four lines. Three children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Atkins, the following being a 
brief record: George D., who is in charge of 
the Nonotuck Silk office in Boston, married 
Carrie Eaton, of Chaplin, Conn., and they 
have one son and two daughters. Effie D. is 
the wife of George A. Willey, for many years 
a teacher, but now agent of the new ( )ld 
South Church property in Boston; the)' are 
the parents of two sons and a daughter. 
Frederick T., a dyer in the silk works, resid- 
ing next door to his parents, married Lillian 
Graves, of this place: and the}- have two 
daughters. 

In 1S46 Mr. Atkins purchased his present 
home estate, giving one hundred dollars for 
the two acres, and soon after erected a modest 



418 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



cottage, which has since been enlarged and 
improved. It is situated in the centre of a 
large and finely shaded lawn, his lot being 
about three hundred feet front, and extending 
from street to street, the house being back 
from the dust and din of the roadway. In 
politics Mr. Atkins was for many years iden- 
tified with the Republican party, but of late 
has voted independently, and has always 
steadfastly refused all official honors. So- 
cially, he is a Mason of thirty-four years' 
standing, belonging to Jerusalem Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., of Northampton. 

On another page of the present volume is 
given a portrait of this veteran artificer, whose 
many years of diligent and skilful application 
entitle him to rank among the "captains of 
industry." 



*-•••-*- 



-OHN MANLEY TURNER, general 
agent of the Equitable Life Assurance 
Society and a resident of Northampton 
since 1866, was born April 22, 1829, in 
Mansfield, Conn., son of Benjamin and Desire 
(Calkins) Turner. 

Mr. Turner is of Puritan ancestry, being a 
lineal descendant of John M. Turner, one of 
the courageous band that landed on Plymouth 
Rock from the historic "Mayflower" in 1620. 
He did not survive the rigors of the first New 
England winter he experienced, but died 
before spring, leaving three sons, one of whom 
was the progenitor of the subject of this 
sketch. The paternal great-grandfather of 
Mr. Turner was Seth Turner. His son, 
Prince Turner, was a well-known resident of 
Mansfield, Conn., being an innkeeper on the 
old turnpike for many years. He married, 
and reared two children, Benjamin and Eu- 
nice Turner. Eunice lived about sixty-eight 
years. Prince Turner died quite suddenly at 
the age of fifty-six years. His widow sur- 



vived him, dying at the age of seventy-seven 
years. 

Benjamin Turner was a well-to-do farmer, 
and also carried on an extensive wholesale and 
retail mercantile business. He resided in 
Mansfield, and was a shrewd business man. 
His wife was a daughter of James and Betsey 
(Dunham) Calkins, and their wedding was 
celebrated in 1803. She was of Scotch ante- 
cedents, her grandfather, the Rev. James Cal- 
kins, having emigrated from Scotland, the 
country of his birth, to Connecticut, where he 
was put in charge of the Presbyterian church 
of Willington. Her parents were lifelong 
residents of Willington, both living to good 
old age, and leaving two sons and two 
daughters. 

John Manley Turner was a regular attend- 
ant at the district school until thirteen years 
of age, when he was placed under the instruc- 
tion of Dr. William H. Richardson, with 
whom he studied six years. When seventeen 
years old, before completing his education, he 
taught school for three terms, at the same 
time pursuing his studies. At the age of 
twenty he was appointed assistant superin- 
tendent of schools with the Rev. A. R. Liv- 
ermore in his native town, holding that office 
and still studying and teaching by turns. He 
was subsequently appointed the first Select- 
man of the town. He afterward taught in the 
graded school at Tolland, Conn., finally going 
to Rockville in 1855 as principal of the high 
school, and having the charge of all the 
schools. He retained this position eleven 
years, during which he acquired a high repu- 
tation as an educator. He looks back upon 
that period now as the most useful decade of 
his life. While in Rockville, he was clerk 
of the First Congregational Church and su- 
perintendent of the Sunday-school; and he 
became an honorary life member of the For- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



419 



eign Missionary Society. He was noted in 
educational circles, and for several years was 
Vice-President of the State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation. In 1868 Mr. Turner established the 
firm of Turner, Walker & Co. in the general 
insurance business, which was carried on 
until 1876, when Mr. Turner retired. The 
following year Mr. Turner became general 
agent for the Equitable Life Assurance Soci- 
ety. He is also a large dealer in real estate, 
making, without doubt, some of the heaviest 
sales in that line ever made in this county. 
He has accumulated a fine property, and owns 
in Glenwood, Volusia County, Fla., an orange 
grove that produces three thousand boxes of 
oranges a year. 

Mr. Turner was united in marriage at South 
Glastonbury, Conn., in 1850 to Elizabeth L. 
Sanders, who died in 1880. The only child 
born of their union was a daughter, Lizzie M., 
who became the wife of Gilbert A. Christie, 
and died childless January 8, 1892. Mr. 
Turner is a Master Mason, and is an esteemed 
member of the First Congregational Church. 



wJ)/oLCOT 

V^V est la 



OLCOTT HAMLIN, one of the old- 
lawyers in Amherst, who was 
connected with the political centre 
at Washington during one of the most stirring 
epochs of the country's history, was born in 
Livermore, Me., November 4, 1823, son of 
Isaac and Mary (Wolcott) Hamlin, the former 
a native of Harvard, Mass., the latter of Bol- 
ton. His grandfather, Major Eleazer Ham- 
lin, who also was a native of Massachusetts, 
was an early settler on Cape Cod. He was an 
officer in the Revolutionary army, and re- 
ceived for his services grants of land in Ohio 
and Maine. His last years were spent in 
Westford, Mass., where he now lies buried. 
Major Hamlin was a man of considerable force 



of character, a prominent citizen wherever he 
made his home. He was three times married, 
and reared a large family, all of whom have 
passed away. 

His son, Isaac Hamlin, grew to manhood in 
Harvard, Mass., early becoming familiar with 
agriculture, and adopting farming for his 
occupation. The greater part of his life was 
spent in Livermore, Me., where he was a 
prominent man. His last days were passed 
in Dover, N.H.; and there he breathed his 
last when eighty years of age. In politics 
Mr. Hamlin was a Whig. In religious belief 
he followed the teachings of the Baptist 
church. Mrs. Hamlin, who lived to Lie 
seventy-six years old, also spent her last days 
in Dover, N.H. They had a large family, 
one of whom died in infancy. Eight children 
attained maturity; namely, Isaac Green, Sam- 
uel B., Hannibal, Henry H., Mary, Lorinda, 
Augusta, and Wolcott. 

Wolcott Hamlin, the subject of this sketch, 
was the youngest child of the family. He 
was reared on his father's farm in Livermore, 
Me., attending the district schools in boy- 
hood, and finishing his education at Kent's 
Hill Seminary. He taught school for a 
while, and also engaged in other occupations. 
After spending some time in Boston, he went 
to Andover, N.H. In this place he was en- 
gaged in mercantile business for some years. 
He then took up the study of law, reading 
under Samuel Butterfield, and was admitted 
to the bar of New Hampshire in 1852. In 
1856 he removed to Dover, X . II., and was 
there appointed Solicitor for Strafford County, 
his term of service to be five years. Just be- 
fore its expiration he resigned, and in 1 86 1 
went to Washington, D.C., where for nine 
years he was engrossing clerk of the Senate. 
In the mean time he was elected Representa- 
tive from the city of Dover, N.H., to the 



420 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



national legislature, and served in 1866 and 
[867. In 1870 he was made Supervisor of 
Internal Revenue for the States of Maine, 
New Hampshire, and Vermont, and filled the 
office until 1872, when the district was abol- 
ished. In the fall of that year he invested in 
a large tract of timber land in Connecticut, 
and for six years was engaged in lumbering; 
and in 1878 he moved to Amherst, and 
erected a large building for one of the college 
societies. In 1880 Mr. Hamlin again took 
up the work of his profession, and up to the 
present time has been actively engaged in 
legal practice. 

On July 3, 1845, Mr. Hamlin was united 
in marriage with Miss Susan Westman, the 
ceremony taking place in Boston. Miss 
Westman, who was a daughter of Peter West- 
man, of Bath, Me., was born in the latter 
place, May 1, 1821. Mr. and Mrs. Hamlin 
had a family of nine children, of whom the 
following are living: Edward F., who resides 
in Boston; Emma A., wife of Dr. Danforth, 
of New York City; John, a lawyer in Thomp- 
sonville, Conn. ; Mary, wife of Thomas Wood, 
of Utica, N.Y.; Frederick W., a physician 
in New York City; and Arthur W., who 
resides in Amherst. 

In politics Mr. Hamlin favors the princi- 
ples of the Prohibitionists. He and his wife 
are members of the First Congregational 
Church, of which he has been Deacon, and is 
now Treasurer. Mr. Hamlin's career has 
been an eventful one. Engrossing clerk of 
the Senate during Lincoln's administration, 
when his distinguished relative, Hannibal 
Hamlin, was Vice-President, he was in close 
touch with the pulse of the nation during the 
Civil War. He was in Washington at the 
time of the assassination of President Lincoln 
and the attempted murder of Secretary Sew- 
ard, and his two years in the House of Repre- 



sentatives were respectively signalized by the 
laying of the first Atlantic cable and the 
purchase of Russian America by the United 
States. 




HARLES N. HARLOW, senior mem- 
ber of the firm of C. N. Harlow & 
Co., of Northampton, Mass., well- 
known contractors and builders, is a native of 
Cummington, Hampshire County, born May 
13, 1836, son of Charles and Orissa (Mason) 
Harlow and grandson of Matthew Harlow, born 
in Abington, Mass., in the year 1770. 

Matthew Harlow, having been reared in 
Abington, removed to Cummington, where he 
bought land, and became quite an extensive 
farmer. He was twice married. His first 
union was with Rachel Thompson, who died 
comparatively young, leaving him four chil- 
dren; namely, Matthew, Hattie, Hannah, and 
Lydia. He afterward married Persis Parker, 
widow of Benjamin Parker, and who had two 
children, Jacob and Benjamin Parker. Of 
this second union five children were born; 
namely, Charles, father of the subject of this 
sketch, Rachel, Asa, William, and Joseph, 
all of whom are now deceased. Grandfather 
Harlow died in 1842, having outlived both of 
his wives, who had passed away on the Cum- 
mington homestead. 

Charles Harlow, born in Cummington in 
the year 18 17, spent his early years on his 
father's farm. When old enough, he learned 
the tanner's trade of William Hubbard. In 
1 841 he removed with his family to Amherst, 
Me., where he worked at his trade as an em- 
ployee for five years. He was afterward in 
business for himself for two years in tanning 
in Murival, Me., remaining there until he 
was burned out by a fire that was caused by 
lightning. In 1848 he returned to the place 
of his nativity, and, purchasing the William 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



421 



Hubbard farm, containing five hundred and 
twelve acres, engaged in the manufacture of 
lumber, using the mill on his farm for manu- 
facturing purposes. He also undertook bridge 
building, and erected thirty of the bridges 
that cross the Westfield River. Another of 
his enterprises was a barrel factory, which 
supplied the Berkshire Glass Works with bar- 
rels. He was an important factor in the 
industrial interests of Cumin ington, was 
esteemed for his business capacity and good 
judgment, and served the town as Selectman 
for ten years. In 1S35 he was united in mar- 
riage to Orissa Mason, who was born in Cum- 
mington in 1819, being the daughter of Jesse 
Mason, another pioneer farmer and lifelong 
resident of Cummington. She had been a 
schoolmate of the Hon. Henry L. Dawes and 
of the beloved poet, William Cullen Bryant. 
Eight children w r ere born to them, of whom a 
son died in infancy; and a daughter, Sarah 
]., died when twenty-one years old. Those 
living are as follows: Charles N., of this 
sketch; George W. ; Ozro F. ; Orrissa I., 
wife of F. E. Brown; Persis O., wife of 
'Charles O. Gloyd; and Willis E. All are 
residents of this city. The brothers, who 
have inherited the mechanical abilitv of their 
father, are in the building business. Neither 
of the parents is living, the mother having 
passed away in 18S1 and the father in 1886. 
Charles N. Harlow received a substantial 
common-school education, attending the dis- 
trict schools in Amherst, Me., and in Cum- 
mington, Mass. He early turned his attention 
to mechanical occupations, working with his 
father until he came of age. Then he went to 
Detroit. Me., where he made and stamped 
leather for the F. Shaw Brothers and for the 
Detroit and Plymouth tanners. In 1859 ne 
went to Roxton Falls, Canada East, and con- 
ducted a tannery for F. Shaw & Brothers for 



three years. He went west in 1866 to He- 
bron, 111., where he had charge of a busy dairy 
farm until 1S68, when he returned to Cum- 
mington. Soon after he purchased the old 
store of Elisha Mitchell in West Cumming- 
ton, and ran it for eight years. He then went 
to Northampton, forming a copartnership with 
his brother George; and they have since built 
up a business as flourishing as any in the city. 
In 1 88 1 the firm purchased their present 
establishment. Mr. Harlow bought his resi- 
dence in 1888, having previously paid rent 
for it for seven years. In politics he is iden- 
tified with the Republican party, but has little 
time for official work. He was elected to the 
Common Council in 1888, but resigned after 
serving nine months. He belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar. 
Mr. Harlow was married March 14, 1 S60, 
to Lovina S. Howes, a daughter of Henry and 
Lucy Ann (Simons) Howes. Mrs. Howes 
died in July, 1887, aged sixty-seven years, 
and Mr. Howes April 28, 18S9, in the 
seventy-sixth year of his age, leaving seven of 
their ten children, eight of whom grew to 
maturity. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Harlow five children were born, one of whom, 
Linus E., died when two years of age. The 
others are as follows: Lillian I... residing at 
home, engaged in the millinery busin 
Charles N., Jr., a salesman in Springfield, 
married to Lila A. Hannah; Emma P., wife 
of Alfred B. Montville, a travelling salesman 
of Northampton, having two daughters; 
Henry Howes, a carpenter, a promising young 
man of nineteen years. 



/lira 



EORGE W. HARLOW, carpenter, 
VJ^L contractor, and builder, of the firm 
of C. N. Harlow & Co., Northamp- 
ton, was born during the residence of his par- 



I- - 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ents, Charles and Orissa (Mason) Harlow, in 
Maine, his birth occurring in the town of 
Amherst, September 5, 1842. (A fuller ac- 
count of the family is given in the sketch of 
Charles N. Harlow on another page.) 

Mr. Harlow was educated in the common 
schools. His native mechanical talent was 
developed while working with his father when 
a young man. He remained beneath the pa- 
rental roof until some time after the breaking 
out of the Civil War, when, in August, 1863, 
he enlisted in defence of the Union. He 
joined Company C, Fifty-second Massachu- 
setts Volunteer Infantry, and served one year, 
during which he was at the forefront in sev- 
eral hard-fought battles. At the time of his 
enlistment he was a strong and rugged man, 
five feet eleven inches in height, weighing- 
one hundred and eighty-four pounds. After 
the battle at Franklin, from lying out at night 
in the rain he took a severe cold, which re- 
sulted in a serious lung trouble and diarrhoea. 
In the course of the three following weeks 
Mr. Harlow lost sixty-three pounds in weight, 
yet he rejoined his regiment in season for the 
siege at Port Hudson. He was, however, dis- 
abled from further service, and took no part 
in that action. Finally one of his lungs was 
pronounced "entirely gone"; and he was sent 
home, supposedly to die. He returned to his 
father's house on July 19, 1864, a mere wreck 
of what he was when he left it less than twelve 
months before. His grand constitution, how- 
ever, and his strong determination to live en- 
abled him to recuperate and after a while to 
resume his former occupation. Since 1 88 1 
Mr. Harlow, in company with his brother, has 
been in business at his present stand. 

On September 28, 1865, the ceremony 
uniting Mary Louise Kneeland and George 
W. Harlow in the bonds of matrimony was 
performed. Mrs. Harlow is a native of 



Northampton, born September 25, 1842, a 
daughter of Isaac Newton and Frances N. 
(Strong) Kneeland. Her maternal grand- 
father, Seth Strong, was one of the early set- 
tlers of Northampton, coming here at a time 
when wild turkeys and other game were plen- 
tiful and the site of the present city was a 
part of the favorite hunting-ground of the 
dusky savage. He was a mason by trade, had 
much inventive genius, and was a lineal de- 
scendant of Governor Strong, of Colonial 
fame. He and his wife reared two children 
of the four born to them; namely, Frances N. 
(Mrs. Harlow's mother) and Harriet. He 
lived to the age of eighty-nine years, dying in 
1879. I n tne public library of the town is a 
history of the Strong family, which dates back 
five generations; and there are also two val- 
uable historical works relating to this local- 
ity, published by Frederick N. Kneeland. 
Mrs. Harlow's father was very prominent and 
well-to-do. He made a good deal of money 
from machinery which he invented for the 
manufacture of paper and of ink. The latter 
is now used by the government. He had an 
income of fourteen hundred dollars per month, 
but never hoarded it, being generous to a 
fault. His brother Joseph married Harriet, 
another daughter of Seth Strong. Isaac N. 
Kneeland was born April 1, 1820, and died 
April 4, i860, just as he was to be appointed 
government printer. His widow is still liv- 
ing in Northampton, an active and bright 
woman of seventy-two years. She has buried 
four of the seven children born to her, 
namely: Emily Jane, who died in 1847; 
Charles, in 1850; Lillian, in 1857; and 
Anna Isabelle, in 1863. The three who are 
living are: Mrs. Harlow; Frederick Newton, 
Cashier of the First National Bank; and Hat- 
tie Josephine, residing at Paradise Road with 
her mother and brother. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



\23 



The union of Mr. and Mrs. Harlow has 
been blessed by the birth of six children, as 
follows: Sarah Gertrude, wife of Charles H. 
Warren, of Roxbury, Mass., who has one son 
and two daughters; George F., who graduated 
from the high school in 1889, and is book- 
keeper for C. N. Felts; Arthur Bradford, a 
salesman for the Banister Company; Annie 
Mabel, a student in the high school ; Grace 
Evelyn, a pupil in the grammar school; and 
Ralph Eugene, a school-boy of eleven years. 
Mr. Harlow and his family occupy 13 Monroe 
Street, a pleasant and conveniently arranged 
house, which he built in the summer of 1895. 
He is a Master Mason, having been Junior 
Deacon of his Lodge, and belongs to the Will- 
iam L. Baker Post, No. 86, Grand Army of 
the Republic, being Sergeant-major of the 
post. In politics he is a Republican; and 
he attends the Congregational church, of 
which Mrs. Harlow is an esteemed and active 
member. 




;AMUEL B. DICKINSON occupies 
the farm in Granby on which his 
birth occurred June 1, 1844. He 
is a descendant of a well-known family of 
this place. His parents, Eli and Hermione 
(Barton) Dickinson, were lifelong residents 
of the town. His father carried on general 
farming until his death, in September, 1867. 
His mother survived her husband, dying on 
the old homestead in 1870. Of the five chil- 
dren born to them three are deceased ; namely, 
Mary, Julia, and Caroline. The two living 
are: Samuel B., the subject of this sketch; 
and Caroline, wife of William Lincoln, of 
Warren, Mass. 

Samuel B. Dickinson acquired his education 
in the schools of the town. At the age of 
eighteen years, fired with patriotic enthusi- 
asm, he enlisted in Company H, Fifty-second 



Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, under com- 
mand of Colonel Greenleaf, and shared the 
fortunes of that regiment for a time in the 
Civil War. Soon after the engagement at 
Indian Bend he was taken sick, and in conse- 
quence was sent to Brashear City, La., then 
to New Orleans, and finally to his home. On 
August 14, 1863, he was honorably discharged 
from the service. Returned to the parental 
homestead, Mr. Dickinson assisted his father 
in cultivating the farm, thereby acquiring 
experience that was of inestimable value to 
him in after years. When his father died, he 
assumed the entire management of the prop- 
erty, which then contained one hundred and 
fifty acres of good land. 

On December 7, 1865, Mr. Dickinson was 
united in marriage with Miss Sarah Nash, a 
native of Hadley and a daughter of Lorenzo 
and Pamelia Nash. The father was a native 
of Hadley, and spent his early life there; 
while the mother was a native of Granby. 
The home life of Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson has 
been cheered by the birth of three children, 
as follows: Henry N., a resident of Jamaica 
Plain, Mass., married to Julia Kimball; Sam- 
uel R. and Carrie L., at home with their 
parents. In politics Mr. Dickinson is a 
Republican. He served his town as Select- 
man in the years of 1887 and 188S, and again 
in the four consecutive years from 1891 to 
1895. He belongs to the Charles C. Smith 
Post, No. 183, Grand Army of the Republic, 
of South Hadley Falls. Both he and Mrs. 
Dickinson are members of the Congregational 
church. 



fHOMAS GILFILLAN, M.D., a suc- 
cessful and well-known physician of 
Northampton, Mass., was born in Mil- 
ton, N.Y., near Ballston Spa, on January 4, 
1829. His father, Moses Gilfillan, who was 



4? + 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



born in Scotland about the year 1798, was 
growing from youth to manhood during the 
hard times that were felt in manufacturing 
districts in England and Scotland shortly 
after the close of the Napoleonic wars, and 
which gave rise to secret combinations and as- 
semblies for the voicing of grievances and 
rights. He, with others who had caught some 
of the spirit of the French Revolution, became 
involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the ex- 
isting government of Great Britain. The plot 
was discovered before it was mature; and young 
Gilfillan, who was one of the leaders, was 
obliged to conceal himself to escape arrest and 
punishment. In 1820, after being in hiding 
for two years, he succeeded in embarking as 
a common sailor and coming to America. 

By trade he was a weaver of Scotch linens; 
and he followed his vocation in this country, 
having at one time a factory with hand-looms 
in Schenectady, N.Y., where he was engaged 
in weaving counterpanes and carpets, but dur- 
ing the panic of 1837 he was financially 
ruined. He saved only a dollar and a half, 
which he divided with his family; and, leav- 
ing his wife and five children, the eldest but 
seven years of age, to face alone the sufferings 
of want, with the remaining seventy-five cents 
he made the trip from Schenectady to Aga- 
wam, Mass., a distance of about one hundred 
and fifty miles, on foot in midwinter. He 
afterward removed his family to Agawam, 
thence to Palmer, and in 1838 to Northamp- 
ton. Here they remained until 1848, when 
they went to Rockville, Conn., where he died 
in 1859. His wife and her three daughters 
then returned to Northampton. Mrs. Moses 
Gilfillan, who was a woman of great energy of 
character and much physical endurance, died 
in this city in 1884. She and her husband 
were Orthodox Christians and members of the 
First Congregational Church in Northampton. 



in 



the Northampton 



Their remains rest 
cemetery. 

Their son James, who was a graduate of 
Williams College, was an editor of the Rock- 
ville Republican when the father died. Later 
he became a law student in the office of Con- 
gressman and Judge Loomis; and in i860 he 
entered the United States Treasury Depart- 
ment at Washington, with which he was con- 
nected for twenty-one years. While employed 
as Assistant Treasurer, he was an important 
witness against the Whiskey Ring of St. 
Louis, and was rewarded for his courage and 
honesty by promotion to the position of 
Treasurer under Ulysses S. Grant. The three 
daughters, who were graduates of Mount Hol- 
yoke Seminary, were able teachers here and 
in the South; and two of them were teaching 
at Fort Gibson, Miss., when the war broke 
out, and they were obliged to leave the State. 

Thomas Gilfillan is a graduate of Williams 
College and also of the Pittsfield Medical 
School, where he completed the course in 
1855. He has since been continuously en- 
eased in the duties of his profession. In 
October, 1862, he enlisted in the Forty-sixth 
Massachusetts Regiment, being appointed 
Assistant Surgeon to Dr. Waterman, of West- 
field, and served nine months. After that he 
re-enlisted in the Fifty-ninth Massachusetts 
Regiment, in which he served a yeat, receiv- 
ing his honorable discharge in September, 
1864. In addition to his regular practice, in 
which he has been very successful, a few years 
ago he established at his home a gold cure for 
the treatment of inebriates. 

On January 1, 1865, Dr. Gilfillan was 
united in marriage with Miss Julia M. Brad- 
ley, a daughter of Zenas H. Bradley, of Cum- 
mington, Mass. Their union has been 
blessed by the birth of four children, of whom 
one died in infancy. The living are: James, 




SILAS G. HUBBARD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4-' 7 



a book-keeper for the Belding Silk Mills, who 
is married, and has one son; Rose M., who is 
attending the high school, and is a young lady 
of musical talent and a promising student; 
and Donald R., a youth of fifteen, who is also 
a pupil of the high school. Dr. Gilfillan is a 
member of the Massachusetts Medical So- 
ciety; and he is also a comrade of William L. 
Raker Post, No. 86, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, of which he is Surgeon. 




RS. RHODA W. HUBBARD, 
daughter of Justin and Dolly W. 
(Waite) Hastings, was born in 
Hatfield, here grew to womanhood and spent 
her married life of thirty-three years, and 
here continues to reside since the death of her 
husband, Silas G. Hubbard, on June 14, 
1890. She is a highly intelligent and esti- 
mable lady, possessing the esteem and good 
will of her neighbors, and occupying a pleas- 
ant home. Her grandparents were John and 
Sybil (Dickinson) Hastings, the former of 
whom was a practising physician and a real 
estate owner of Hatfield. Dr. Hastings and 
his wife both lived to an advanced age. 
Their children were: Chester; Mary; Sophia; 
and Justin, the father of Mrs. Hubbard. 

Justin Hastings, who was born in Hatfield, 
January 23, 1800, settled upon the farm which 
is now occupied by J- Breor, and conducted 
general farming with success. He died at the 
age of eighty-four years. His wife, Dolly 
\V. Waite, was born January 24, 1801, and 
became the mother of three children, as fol- 
lows: Harriet H., who was born November 
I, 1825, married T. Bagg, and died November 
28, 1874; Rhoda W. ; and Ellen M., born 
November 5, 1831, who married Dexter 
Frary, and died October 9, 1852. The 
mother died at the age ol seventy-nine. 



The Hubbard family of Hatfield are descend- 
ants of John Hubbard, who accompanied his 
father from England, and settled in Connecti- 
cut. Silas G. Hubbard was born on the old 
Hatfield homestead in 1S31, and was a son of 
John and Clarissa (Clapp) Hubbard. He 
attended the schools of Hatfield, and com- 
pleted his education at the Easthampton 
Academy. He assisted his father in conduct- 
ing the farm, and resided at the old homestead 
until the death of his parents, after which he 
engaged in farming upon his own account, 
also devoting a considerable time to survey- 
ing. In i860 Mr. Hubbard purchased the 
John Smith property on Main Street, which 
includes a handsome brick residence and 
eleven acres of land ; and he also became the 
owner of other valuable real estate. He was 
an extensive farmer and one of the largest 
tobacco growers upon the fiats. For some 
years he was President of the Connecticut 
Valley Tobacco Growers' Association, and 
was very active in that capacity. The mar- 
riage of Silas G. Hubbard and Rhoda \Y. 
Hastings took place on April 16, 1851. 

Mr. Hubbard was a Republican in politics, 
and served with ability in various positions of 
public trust, being a Selectman for several 
years, also School Commissioner and Town 
Treasurer, and in 1857 representing his dis- 
trict in the legislature. He was Treasurer of 
•Smith Academy, and for twenty years a Direc- 
tor of the First National Bank of Northamp- 
ton and its predecessor, the Holyoke Bank. 
In religion he was a Congregationalist and a 
very active member of that church. 

Friends and acquaintances of Mr. Hubbard 
will recognize his features in the faithful por- 
trait on the opposite page. What manner of 
man he was and the estimation in which he 
was held in the county where he was widely 
known, being for some years the Hatfield cor- 



428 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



respondent of the Hampshire Gazette, was 
well voiced by the local press, from which we 
quote the following, speaking of him first as 
a .writer: — 

"In this capacity he displayed rare good 
taste, excellent judgment, and varied intelli- 
gence. He was always ready on all questions, 
whether of current news, which he presented 
in an acceptable manner, never offending any 
one, in the history of his town, in which he 
was especially well informed, better, prob- 
ably, than any other man of his time, or on 
questions of a broader scope, having a national 
interest and importance. He was greatly 
interested in the celebration held last fall 
([889) of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial 
Association, and prepared the principal his- 
torical address of the occasion, visiting Boston 
and other places to search for ancient mate- 
rial, which he presented in a paper of rare 
value and great historical interest. Consider- 
ing the limited opportunities he had for edu- 
cation and development, being confined to the 
labors of the farm nearly all his life, he was 
indeed a man of remarkable research and 
breadth of mind. He was a great reader and 
a close student, and his mind was well stored 
with information covering a wide range of 
subjects. He looked to causes as well as to 
effects, and was never satisfied until he knew 
the beginning as well as the end, the why and 
the wherefore as well as the final results. He 
was a man of high moral and religious 
principle." 

«■«»»■> 

-|p)TENRY A. CROSBY, a farmer and 
r^-l milk dealer of Northampton, was 

JA 9 V. , born in Williamsburg in 1844, son 

of Benjamin Franklin and Parthena (Bradford) 
Crosby. 

Joshua K. Crosby, the grandfather of Henry 
A. Crosby, was a native of Enfield, Mass., 



and a son of the Rev. Joshua Crosby, who 
served in the Revolutionary War, and later as 
chaplain in the War of 1812. Joshua K. 
Crosby, who was a tiller of the soil and an 
enterprising citizen of Enfield, married Miss 
Minnie Sears, of Williamsburg. They reared 
two of the three sons born to them, namely: 
Joshua, a successful agriculturist of Sears- 
ville, in the town of Williamsburg; and Ben- 
jamin F., who was born in Enfield in 1820. 
The latter married in 1842, and he and his 
wife reared three children. Two are now liv- 
ing: Henry A.; and Ella, the wife of Nathan 
Abbott, of North Farms. Their mother died 
in 1852, when but thirty-six years of age. 
The father, who is still living, resides at 
North Farms with his daughter's family. 

Henry A. Crosby acquired his education in 
the Williamsburg common school. In 1877 
he came to Northampton, and purchased from 
Charles Sanderson his present farm. It con- 
tains about sixty-eight acres of land. Besides 
his farming, he keeps a dairy of choice cows, 
the milk of which he sells to the people of 
Leeds. 

He was married March 15, 1870, to Miss 
Mary C. Allen, a native of Dorchester, Mass. 
She is a daughter of Bennett and Cordelia 
(Warner) Allen, who now reside in Florence, 
to which they moved from Goshen, Mass. 
Her father is a successful carpenter and build- 
ing contractor. He and his wife reared seven 
children; and all are now living except Clara 
M., who died, thirty years of age. Those liv- 
ing are: Charles T. Allen, of Manchester, 
N.H.; Mary C. ; Flora I., the wife of G. N. 
Baker, of Florence; Lizzie E., who is unmar- 
ried, and resides at home; Lucy L., who mar- 
ried C. B. Tower; and Harriet B., the wife of 
Lynn Porter, of Florence. Mrs. Crosby's 
paternal grandfather was Amzi Allen, who 
was born in Connecticut, but spent his life 



BIOGRAPHICAL RKVIEW 



!-■" 



mostly in West Springfield and Florence, 
Mass. He was twice married, and had twelve 
children by the two unions, of whom nine 
grew to maturity, and six are now living. 
They are as follows: Hiram Allen, of Minne- 
apolis, Minn.; Robert Allen, who resides in 
Washington, D.C., and is paymaster in the 
navy; Frederick, living in Manchester, N.H.; 
Mrs. George Readio, a widow, living in Flor- 
ence; Mrs. William Currier, also of Flor- 
ence; and Bennett, the father of Mrs. Crosby. 
Mrs. Crosby has borne her husband three 
children, namely: Flora Maud, eighteen years 
old, who is a graduate of the Springfield Busi- 
ness College, and is living with her parents; 
Earle Bennett, a lad of seven years; and 
Frank Ashley. Mr. Crosby is a Republican. 
He has served acceptably as Councilman. He 
is connected with various fraternal organiza- 
tions, among which may be mentioned the 
A. F. & A. M., the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, the Northampton Grange, and the 
Knights of Honor. 




iRS. MARIA S. MEEKINS, of 

Williamsburg, widow of the late 
Dr. Thomas Meekins and a woman 
of superior intelligence, was born in Chester- 
field, Mass., in the year i N46, a daughter of 
Spencer and Polly (Abels) Goodman. 

Spencer Goodman's birth occurred in Had- 
ley. A ferry owned by his father was then 
the only means of crossing the Connecticut 
River at that point. This was tended by 
him for several years. Though the work had 
its pleasant features, it was a trving position, 
as he was often kept employed all night. 
Tiring of this occupation, he removed to 
Chesterfield, where he purchased a farm, on 
which he lived for several years. He then 
sold out, and bought another farm in Hadlev. 



He sold this also, ami purchased land in 
Williamsburg. Here he died, eighty-seven 
years of age. In politics he was a Democrat 
and in religious belief a Baptist. His wife 
reared two sons and two daughters: namely, 
Maria S., Stephen K., D. Alonzo, ami 
Wealthy C. She lived to the age of eighty 
years. 

Maria S. Goodman, the eldest-born, lived 
at home until her marriage with Dr. Thomas 
Meekins. He was born in the town of Will- 
iamsburg, and was a son of Stephen and Sarah 
(Hicox) Meekins and a grandson of Thomas 
and Hannah (Carey) Meekins. His great- 
grandfather, Thomas Meekins, came to this 
country from England, and settled in Hat- 
field, where he became a large land-owner and 
a prominent citizen, and was subsequently 
killed by Indians. Thomas Meekins (second) 
was born in Hatfield, from which place lie 
came to Williamsburg, then but thinly set- 
tled, and where land was extremely cheap. 
He first purchased one hundred acres, for 
which he paid eight cents per acre; and, 
when he had this cleared, he purchased more. 
This land is now in the possession of his 
descendants. He made sundry improvements, 
among which was the erection of frame build- 
ings. He met with much prosperity, and 
died at the age of eighty-five years. His 
wife's decease occurred when she wis sixty 
years old. His son Stephen, who was born in 
Williamsburg, assisted his father in clearing 
the land; and after the latter's death he fol- 
lowed his father's policy of buying more as 
fast as the clearing progressed. lie also 
reared large numbers of sheep and cattle, and 
was the largest stock-raiser in that vicinity. 
He died at the age of threescore years and 
ten. His wife, who before marriage was 
Sarah Hicox, bore him ten children, of whom 
six grew to maturity. Two died in infancy, 



43° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and the others were: Hannah, Louis, Theo- 
dosia, Thomas, Christopher, Stephen, Irene, 
and John. The mother was over seventy 
years of age at the time of her death. 

Thomas Meekins chose for his profession 
the practice of medicine, and became a skilled 
physician and surgeon. He was one of the 
first doctors to locate in the town of Williams- 
burg, where he acquired a large and remun- 
erative practice. He was a man of broad 
liberality, and was very highly esteemed by 
all who knew him. He took a keen interest 
in his town, and was ever ready to lend the 
weight of his influence to any worthy enter- 
prise looking to its improvement. His death, 
August 5, 1880, was a loss to the community 
as well as to his large circle of friends and 
acquaintances. 



jjDWARD A. ALLEN, a prominent mer- 
chant of Huntington, was born in Dal- 
ton, Mass., August 1, 1847, son of 
Henry M. and Electa C. (Davis) Allen. Mr. 
Allen's father was a native of Cummington, 
Mass., where he grew to manhood. Later he 
moved to Dalton, where he followed agricult- 
ure as an occupation. On March 21, 1861, 
he enlisted as a private in Company B, Nine- 
teenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, 
and served through the Civil War, receiving 
his discharge from the service in 1865. He 
died in Chester, Mass. His wife was the 
mother of four children, as follows: Fidelia, 
whose husband, Albert A. Griswold, of Dal- 
ton, was killed at the siege of Port Hudson, 
and who died, leaving one son, Frank A., who 
married Lucy Herring, and resides in Hol- 
yoke; Caroline C, who married Dr. Loomis, 
a practising physician of Springfield, Mass.; 
George H., who married Ellen Pendleton, 
and is engaged in farming in Russell, having 



one son, named George; and Edward A., the 
subject of this sketch. 

Edward A. Allen commenced life for him- 
self at the age of fifteen, when he came to 
Huntington, and was employed in a bedstead 
manufactory for eighteen months. He then 
worked in the paper-mill for a year, after 
which he was employed by S. T. Lyman in 
the hardware business for nine years. While 
here, he learned the trade of a tinner. In 
1872 Mr. Allen established himself in busi- 
ness at his present store, and has since con- 
ducted a successful trade in hardware, tinware, 
ranges, etc., besides doing considerable work 
as a practical plumber. For the past six 
years he has also been engaged in the under- 
taking business, and later he made an invest- 
ment in real estate located in Huntington that 
promises a satisfactory return. He is an 
energetic and able business man, and his 
enterprise has met with merited success. 

Mr. Allen is an active supporter of the Re- 
publican party. He is Deputy Sheriff for 
Hampshire and Hampden Counties, and has 
been Constable for several years. He has 
been a Trustee of the Whiting Street Fund 
for the past six years. In Masonry he has 
advanced to the Commandery, and he is a 
member in good standing of the Red Men 
and of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. 

On May 15, 1865, Mr. Allen was united in 
marriage to Josepha M. Stanton, who was 
born in Huntington, September 29, 1846, 
daughter, of Joseph Stanton, Jr., a prosperous 
farmer of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Allen 
have two children, namely: Harry Edward, 
who was born February 24, 1S74; and Grace 
S., who was born February 9, 1879. Both 
parents are members of the Baptist congrega- 
tion, and are actively interested in church 
work. 




BRUNO F. RUDER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



433 




s 1 RUNO F. RUDER was a native of 
Saxony, German)', born June 26, 
1848; but from 1863 until the time 
of his decease, April 17, 1895, he was a re- 
spected resident of Northampton, Mass. He- 
was a son of John Frederick and Caroline 
(Papp) Ruder, both natives of Saxony. The 
father was a locksmith by trade, following it 
uninterruptedly through the years of his activ- 
ity, which were comparatively few, his death 
occurring when only thirty-three years old. 
His widow subsequently emigrated to Amer- 
ica, coming hither at the instigation of Rob- 
ert Ruder, who had settled in Holyoke prior 
to that time. 

Bruno began earning his own living as soon 
as he came to this country, having learned the 
trade of a tool-maker and locksmith while in 
the Fatherland, being thus enabled to secure 
a position in the machine shop of the Arms 
Pocket-book Manufacturing Company, with 
whom he worked industriously for several 
years. In 1 870, having saved some money, 
he married Katharina C. Chandler, a native 
of Northampton, a daughter of Pomeroy 
Chandler. Soon after their union Mr. and 
Mrs. Ruder opened a restaurant at 46 King 
Street, which proved attractive to the public; 
and in the course of a few years they built up 
an extensive and remunerative business. In 
1872 he bought the restaurant and the lot on 
which it is situated; and some years later, in 
18S5, he purchased his fine resilience property 
at 378 Elm Street, and built the commodious 
house in which he lived until his death, and 
which his widow and her family still occupy. 
Mr. Ruder was an energetic, capable, and 
honest man of business, highly esteemed by 
all with whom he came in contact, and quite 
active in social life, being an official member 
and Trustee of Steuben Lodge, D. O. H., and 
one of the founders of the Independent Club 



of Northampton, which at one time had a very 
large membership of Germans. 

Seven children were born of the union of 
Mr. and Mrs. Ruder, two of whom, Nellie and 
Frederick, each died when fifteen months old. 
The record of the five living is as follows: 
Emma S. is the wife of Evon F. Huebler. of 
Northampton; Annie M., a young lady, at 
home; Louis F., a promising young man of 
nineteen years, now studying pharmacy; Si- 
donia, sixteen years old; and Caroline, twelve 
years of age. These children constitute a 
bright and intelligent family, and have inher- 
ited in a marked degree the musical talent of 
their father. 

Evon F. Huebler, the husband of the eldest 
daughter, was born in Saxony, Germany, and 
came here with his mother when a child of 
three years, in 1867, joining his father, Frank 
Huebler, who had emigrated to this country 
the previous year. He is the eldest of seven 
living children born to his parents, who have 
buried five children, two having died in Ger- 
many and three in this country. Mr. Hue- 
bler attended the district school until twelve 
years old, when he began the battle of life as 
a clerk in a grocery store, remaining one year. 
He then became a printer's devil in the office 
of the Hartford Daily Times, where during 
his seven years' apprenticeship he served as 
compositor much of the time, occasionally 
acting as foreman. On arriving at years of 
maturity, Mr. Huebler formed a partnership 
with John H. Van Keuren, under the firm 
name of Van Keuren & Huebler, and started 
the Wethersfield Weekly Farmer, which they 
published for a year and a half. Then, in 
company with several others, he organized a 
stock company for publishing the Winsted 
Daily Evening Citizen, and was engaged as 
business manager and general superintendent 
of the company until October, 1894, when he 



43 t 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



came to Northampton, where he now resides. 
He is still a stockholder in the company, 
which is well established, the stock being 
valued at fifteen thousand dollars. His happy 
union with Miss Emma Ruder was solemnized 
on March 28, 1894. 

A lifelike portrait of Mr. Bruno F. Ruder 
is herewith presented. 



"lf^v ANIEL W. DICKINSON, who since 
|^=J 1889 has been successfully engaged 
c^dJ in the wholesale meat and provision 
business in Amherst, Mass., where he is a 
highly respected citizen, was born in South 
Amherst, December 6, 1851, son of Waitstill 
and Mercy J. Dickinson, both of whom were 
natives of Amherst. 

His grandparents on both sides were among 
the early residents of that town ; and in many 
respects the history of their lives is somewhat 
similar, as both were leading farmers, Cap- 
tains in the State militia, and prominent in 
town affairs. His maternal grandfather, Enos 
Dickinson, was sent as a Representative to 
the State legislature in 1836; and Oliver 
Dickinson, his paternal grandfather, also 
acted as a Representative. The latter died in 
Amherst, at seventy-one years of age. Enos 
Dickinson's death occurred at eighty-three 
years of age. The latter took a prominent 
part in religious movements, and was a mem- 
ber of the Congregational church. In politics 
he was a Whig. 

Waitstill Dickinson, who was born March 
19, 1 8 14, was a lifelong resident of Amherst. 
For many years he was a merchant and Post- 
master in South Amherst, where he kept a 
general store, and did a successful business as 
long as his health permitted. When that 
failed, he was obliged to give up his business 
at a heavy loss. He was an attendant of the 



Congregational church, and in political con- 
tests he cast his vote with the Republican 
party. In 1849 he was sent as a Representa- 
tive to the State legislature; and he served 
his town as Selectman for seven years, as 
Assessor for five years, and was also a member 
of the School Committee. He was married 
on April 20, 1837, to Miss Mercy J. Dickin- 
son, who was born April 7, 18 16. They had 
eleven children, who, with the exception of 
one, reached maturity. Eight are now living; 
namely, Joanna T., Henry C, Dwight E., 
Lucy M., Daniel W., George W., Sidney O., 
and Robert M. The others are: Lyman E., 
who died when three years old; Edward M., 
who lived to be thirty-five years of age; and 
Julia L., who died at twenty-three years of 
age. Mr. Dickinson died on March 10, 1884; 
and she is now living with her son, Daniel 
W. Dickinson. 

Daniel W. Dickinson acquired a good prac- 
tical education in the schools of Amherst. 
He began to assist his father in the store 
when a mere boy, and continued with him 
until shortly after his marriage. He then 
moved to Rocky Hill, Conn., where he started 
a general store for himself, and during the 
succeeding ten years did a successful busi- 
ness. He then went to Meriden, and thence 
to Hartford, Conn., remaining in the latter 
place about four years. While there, he was 
engaged as a commercial traveller, and carried 
a line of wholesale flour and provisions. In 
1887 he came to Amherst, and purchased the 
old Lieutenant Dickinson farm, on which he 
now resides. It contains forty acres of land. 
In addition to cultivating this, he conducts 
a wholesale meat and provision business, in 
which he has been successfully engaged for 
the past six years. 

His marriage with Miss Jennie Prince was 
performed May 20, 1873. She was a daugh- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



43 5 



ter of George H. Prince, who was born in 
Amherst on December 12, 1827, and a grand- 
daughter of Asael Moody and Mahala (Ar- 
nold) Prince, the former of whom was born in 
New York State, and the latter on August 
30, 1797, in Belchertown, Mass. Her grand- 
father came to Hampshire County when but 
seven years of age, and from that time Am- 
herst became his home. He chose the occu- 
pation of an agriculturist, in which he was 
quite successful, and became one of the lead- 
ing farmers of the town. He was also active 
in religious work as a member of the Congre- 
gational church. In political opinions he was 
a Whig. He died March 13, 1836; and his 
wife died in 1858 in Williamsburg, Mass. 
Three of their four children are now living, 
as follows: Simeon I)., born June 7, 1820, 
now residing in Chicago, 111., the proprietor 
of the Prince House; George H.; and Emory 
P., born January 23, 1S31, who resides in 
Jamestown. Kan., where he is a successful 
grain, feed, and coal dealer. A brother, after 
whom the last mentioned was named, was born 
June 18, 1822. and died October 8, 1 830. 

George H. Prince received his education in 
the Amherst common schools. He then en- 
gaged in farming and lumbering, and is still 
interested in the latter. He owns the old 
Prince farm, which he purchased from his I 
brother, and has now retired from active busi- 
ness, having acquired sufficient means for his 
support during the remainder of his life. He 
was married on May 17, 1849, to Miss Sarah 
E. Nash, who was born in Amherst on June 
30, 1829, and is a daughter of Luther and 
Sabra (Pomeroy) Nash, who were early set- 
tlers of Amherst. Luther Nash died, seventy- 
seven years of age, and his wife when nearly 
eighty-five years old. Their seven children 
all grew up, and two are now living, namely: 
Charlotte, the widow of Joshua Powers, who 



resides in Hadley, Mass.; and Mis. Prince. 
Both parents were members of the Congrega- 
tional church. Mr. and Mrs. Prince had six 
children. Four are now living, namely: Liz- 
zie E., born June 10, 1850, the wife of Will 
A. Dickinson, of South Amherst; Frank M., 
born July 2-,, I S54. who is married, resides in 
Minneapolis, Minn., and is Vice-President of 
the First National Bank of that [dace; George 
H., born July 16, 1861, who lives in St. 
Paul, Minn., where he is Cashier of the Capi- 
tal Bank; and Walter L., born June 24, 1866, 
who is married, and lives in Stillwater, 
Minn., Assistant Cashier of the First Na- 
tional Bank. The deceased are: Jennie E., 
born December 12, 1852; Charles W., born 
December 12, 1863, who died August 22, 
1894, at Minneapolis, where he was employed 
as a book-keeper in a bank. Both parents are 
liberal in religious matters, and in politics 
the father is a Republican. He has served 
acceptably as Selectman of the town. Mr. 
Dickinson's wife died on May 9, 1882, leav- 
ing no children. He has liberal views as to 
religious matters, and is a Republican in poli- 
tics. He is quite prominent in town affairs, 
and has served in the official capacity of 
Selectman since 1893 and also in other minor 
offices. 




ENRY CLAY MILTON HOWE, 
one of the leading farmers of En- 
field, was born there on January 10, 
1823, son of John and Rhoda B. (Babbett) 
Howe and grandson of Solomon and Pollv 
(Holmes) Howe. 

Solomon Howe's birth occurred on Septem- 
ber 14, 1750. He studied for the ministry, 
and graduated from Dartmouth Coll 
After that he became a Baptist preacher, and 
had pastoral charges in several New England 
towns, among which was Enfield, then Green- 



43<5 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wich, where he resided a number of years. 
He died in New Salem, November 18, 1835, 
eighty-five years of age. His wife also lived 
to a good age. They were the parents of nine 
children; namely, Abigail H., Hannah, John, 
Nancy, Solomon, Jonah, Jedidiah, Silas W., 
and John Milton. 

John Howe, the eldest son, was a native of 
Brookfield, Mass., where he was born Decem- 
ber 20, 1783. Throughout his life he devoted 
considerable attention to agriculture. He 
also engaged in the printing business, pub- 
lishing hymn-books and spelling-books, and 
in 1804 issuing the first number of Howe's 
Genuine Almanac, for which he made the 
astronomical calculations. It was one of the 
leading almanacs at that time, and he con- 
tinued to publish it up to 1826. The last 
years of his life were spent in Enfield, on the 
farm that is now owned by his son, and which 
he purchased in 1841. His death on Febru- 
ary 16, 1845, closed a very successful life. 
In politics he was a Democrat. He was much 
interested in the welfare of his town, which 
he served as Assessor and in other capacities. 
On matters relating to religion he had liberal 
views. His wite died on September 13, 
1837. Six children were the fruit of their 
union. They were: John H., Myra M., 
Frances M., Henry C. M., Bolivar J., and 
Fenelon W. 

Henry Clay Milton Howe, who is now the 
only survivor of those who in his boyhood 
days made up the family circle, received a 
good practical education in the public schools 
of Enfield. He then turned his attention to 
agriculture, and has continued to reside on 
his present farm, the same to which his par- 
ents moved when he was eighteen years of 
age. It is one of the most productive farms 
in Enfield, and contains about one hundred 
acres, including the pasturage and tillable 



land. Mr. Howe carries on general farming 
and dairying. 

On July 20, 1848, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Theolocia Ann Johnson, who 
was born in Dana, Worcester County, on 
April 20, 1824, and is a daughter of Nathan- 
iel and Martha (Joslyn) Johnson. Her father 
was one of the leading men of Dana, and for 
many years was a teacher in the public 
schools. During his residence there he held 
in turn nearly every office within the gift of 
the town. He also served as a Justice of the 
Peace and as a Representative in the State 
legislature. He died in Dana, seventy-nine 
years of age. His wife bore him four chil- 
dren, of whom, besides Mrs. Howe, there is 
now living but Nathaniel L. Johnson, a prom- 
inent citizen of Dana, who has served as State 
Senator and Representative, and is now Presi- 
dent of the Barre Bank. The deceased were: 
Eliza Mann Johnson, a spinster; and Char- 
lotte Augusta, who married Sylvester Lin- 
coln. Mr. and Mrs. Howe have had four 
children, of whom three are still living, 
namely: William F., born November 17, 
1855, a prosperous merchant of Enfield, at 
one time Postmaster of Enfield, married to 
Miss Harriet Hubbard, and father of two sons 
and a daughter — Grace L., Theodore L., and 
Warren F. ; Edwin H. Howe, the present 
Postmaster of Enfield, graduated by Eastman 
College at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1882, mar- 
ried to Miss Annie A. Williams, and father 
of one son, Donald Williams Howe; and The- 
olocia Lillian, wife of Hiram Weyant, of Bos- 
ton. Henry Johnson Howe died when he was 
but four years and nine months old. 

Mr. Howe is a supporter of Democratic 
principles. He has several times served his 
town as Assessor, and for a number of years 
has filled the office of Surveyor. His views 
on matters pertaining to religion are liberal. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



437 



Mrs. Howe is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 




VERY R. CUSHMAN, a prominent 
manufacturer of North Amherst, was 
born in that town, June 22, 183 1, 
son of John R. and Rhoda (Crafts) Cushman. 
Mr. Cushman is a direct descendant of Robert 
Cushman, one of the organizers of the "May- 
flower" Pilgrims, and who came to America 
on board the ship to arrive after the "May- 
flower." Robert Cushman was a minister and 
a prominent man among the colonizers of 
Massachusetts. Mr. Cushman's grandfather, 
Ephraim Cushman, was born in Middleboro, 
Mass., February 20, 1754. He served in the 
Revolutionary War. and participated in the 
suppression of Shays's Rebellion. He first 
located in Pelham, Mass., later moving to 
North Amherst, where he followed the trade 
of a shoemaker, and also engaged in farming. 
He was an industrious man, and highly es- 
teemed by his neighbors. He raised a large 
family of children, all of whom became useful 
members of society. Ephraim Cushman died 
in North Amherst, February 20, 1832. He 
was a Congregationalist in religion. 

John R. Cushman, son of Ephraim Cushman 
and father of Mr. Cushman, was born in North 
Amherst, September 6, 1803. In early man- 
hood he was connected with the business of 
manufacturing paper, and in 1834 he estab- 
lished the cardboard manufactory in North 
Amherst. This he conducted in company 
with his brother Ephraim until 1864, when 
his son, Avery R. Cushman, purchased 
Ephraim's interest in the business. John R. 
Cushman was originally .t Whig in politics, 
but united with the Republican party at its 
formation, and became prominent in public 
affairs. He served upon the Board of Select- 



men, and was a member of the legislature for 
one term during the Civil War. He was 1 
thorough business man, and stood high among 
his associates for his honorable and upright 
character. He was a member of the Congre- 
gational church, and contributed liberally 
toward its support. John R. Cushman died 
in North Amherst in 1SS3. His wife, who 
was born in Whately, Mass., October 7. 1803, 
became the mother of six children, as follows: 
George H., deceased; Carrie, deceased, who 
married Mr. Julius Hall; Avery R., the sub- 
ject of this sketch: Moses H., a resident of 
North Amherst: John E., who resides in 
North Amherst; and Edward P., who resides 
in Lynn, Mass. The mother died in 1878. 

Avery R. Cushman was educated in the 
public schools of North Amherst, and at an 
early age commenced to learn the paper-mak- 
ing business, lie became familiar with every 
branch of the trade, and in 1864 entered into 
partnership with his father. He has since 
conducted a successful business, and now 
owns the Cushman Mills, which are devoted 
to the manufacture of cardboard, producing a 
large amount annually, and employ from 
twenty to twenty-five skilled workmen. He 
is an energetic and capable business man, who 
has reached his present state of prosperitv by 
hard work. Mr. Cushman is a Republican in 
politics, and has filled important town of- 
fices, and represented his district in the leg- 
islature of 1 87 1 . 

On May 18, 1S54, Mr. Cushman was united 
in marriage to Augusta M. Smith. She was 
born in Enfield, Mass.. May 14, 1832, daugh- 
ter of John W. and Augusta ( Rathburn ) 
Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Cushman have four 
children, namely: Carrie A., who was born 
December 19, 1855. the wife of Albert S. 
Stevens, of Amherst, and mother of one 
daughter. Edith M.; Avery Fayette, born 



43« 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



August 28, i860, is now a lawyer in New 
York City; Charles Smith, born October 31, 
1865, married to Stella L. Shaw, and father 
of one daughter, Stella May; and Stephen 
Percy, born September 20, 1873, now a law 
student in Brooklyn, N.Y. Mr. Cushman's 
children are well advanced upon the road to 
success. Avery F. is connected with the law 
firm of Goodrich, Deady & Goodrich at 59 
Wall Street, New York City. He married 
Mary Hedden, and has one daughter, named 
Carolin. Charles S. is engaged in the paper- 
manufacturing business in North Amherst 
with his father. 

Albert S. Stevens, who married Carrie A. 
Cushman, was born in Pelham, Mass., Febru- 
ary 17, 1852, son of Abial and Maria (Smith) 
Stevens. Mr. Stevens's father was born in 
Gill, Franklin County, Mass., in 1804. He 
was a successful railroad contractor for many 
years, and upon his retirement from business 
he settled in Amherst. He died July 31, 
1876. His wife, Maria Smith, who was born 
in Pelham, Mass., June 2, 1817, became the 
mother of two children, namely: Lorenzo S., 
who resides in Ogden, Utah ; and Albert S. 

Albert S. Stevens received a good educa- 
tion, and has devoted his time and energies to 
railroad contracting and engineering. He 
has also been engaged in the construction of 
public works to a considerable extent, in 
which he was successful; and he is now living 
in retirement in Amherst. Mr. Stevens is a 
Republican in politics. 



JSAAC H. STEELE, superintendent of 
the Cummington Co-operative Cream- 
ery, was born in Cummington, Novem- 
ber 28, 1843, son of Hiram and Rebecca 
(Witherell) Steele. 

Mr. Steele's grandparents were Stephen 



and Chloe (Hubbard) Steele. Stephen Steele 
was born in Tolland County, Connecticut, 
from which State he went to Weathersfield, 
Vt., and later to Windsor, where he became 
a prosperous farmer. His death occurred in 
middle life. His wife, Chloe Hubbard before 
marriage, lived to an advanced age, and was 
the mother of ten children: Stephen, Lucius, 
Eliakin, Hiram, Charles, Chloe, Gratia, 
Emily, Mary )., and Hiram. Mr. Steele's 
father was born in Weathersfield, Vt., January 
5, 1799. When a young man, he went to 
Watertown, Mass., where he learned the trade 
of finishing broadcloth, becoming an expert in 
that occupation. He later worked in Leeds, 
Mass.; and in 1838 he came to Cummington, 
where he purchased the Melvin farm, consist- 
ing of one hundred and fifty acres. He built 
a new barn, and remodelled the other build- 
ings, and was a well-to-do farmer when he 
died in Cummington, at the age of ninety-two 
years. He was a Republican in politics, a 
member of the House of Representatives in 
1846 and 1847, and a member of the Meth- 
odist church. His wife was a native of Ches- 
terfield, Mass., daughter of Elisha Witherell. 
They had three children, as follows : Lucius; 
Mary J., who married for her first husband 
P. A. Bryant, and for her second J. D. Stall; 
and Isaac H., the subject of this sketch. 
The mother died at the age of eighty-two. 
Isaac H. Steele attended the district and 
select schools of Cummington. At the age 
of nineteen years he went to Northampton, 
where he worked upon guns in the Bay State 
shops. He later entered the hoop factory in 
Chesterfield, where he remained for nine 
years, and then, in company with Joseph Cud- 
worth, his wife's father, purchased two hun- 
dred acres of land. They carried on farming 
for eleven years, keeping graded Durham cows 
and making a specialty of raising, matching, 







JASON WILLCUTT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



44i 



and breaking steer. Mr. Steele returned to 
the shops in Chesterfield for three years, and 
in 1886 came to Cummington. Here he 
assisted in finishing the new creamery, after 
which he was appointed superintendent. The 
association started with twenty-five dairies, 
and now disposes of the products of one hun- 
dred and forty-five. It markets upward of 
twenty thousand pounds of butter per month, 
chiefly in the surrounding towns and cities. 
A portion reaches New York and Boston, 
where it has secured a high reputation. The 
Cummington Creamery is noted for the supe- 
rior quality of its commodities — a fact to be 
largely credited to Mr. Steele's management. 
Their supply of water is obtained from a con- 
stant spring, and the machinery is run by a 
twelve-horse power engine. The grounds are 
neatly laid out and covered with shade trees. 

On December 24, 1868, Mr. Steele was 
united in marriage to Alice A. Cudworth, 
daughter of Joseph and Arelia (Todd) Cud- 
worth. They have two children, namely: 
George W., born June 21, 1873; and Frank 
D., born February 3, 1879. Mr. Steele is a 
Republican in politics, and liberal in his 
religious views. 



(£TfASON WILLCUTT, whose portrait is 
here given, a prosperous farmer of 
Cummington, Mass., was born in the 
adjoining town of Goshen, December 5, 1S22, 
son of William and Betsey (Daniels) Will- 
cutt. Mr. Willcutt's grandparents were Zeb- 
ulon and Mercy (Litchfield) Willcutt, who 
moved to Goshen from Cohasset, on the south 
shore of Massachusetts Bay. Zebulon Will- 
cutt acquired a tract of two hundred acres of 
wild land, and cleared and improved a good 
farm, erecting substantial buildings. The 
estate is now owned by Emily Willcutt. He 



served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
and long survived to enjoy the freedom he had 
helped to win, attaining the advanced age of 
ninety-three years. In politics he was a 
Democrat anil in religion a Baptist. His 
wife, Mercy Litchfield, became the mother of 
the following children: John, Jesse, Joseph, 
Minerva, Noah, William, Francis, Serviah, 
and Louis. 

William Willcutt, Mr. Willcutt's father, 
was born in Goshen, and resided with his par- 
ents until 1832. He learned the trade of a 
wagon-maker, and followed that as an occupa- 
tion, but was also a Methodist minister, and 
did a great deal of Christian work. William 
Willcutt died at the age of seventy-one. He 
married Betsey Daniels; and they had eight 
children: Jackson, Jason, Elvira, Hester. 
Harriet, Eliza, William, and Lorenzo. The 
mother died at the age of seventy-nine. 

Jason Willcutt, having grown to manhood, 
purchased the D. Richards farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty-five acres, situated on the 
line between Goshen and Cummington, re- 
modelled the house, built a new bam, and 
otherwise improved the property. He is a 
painstaking and progressive farmer, as is 
shown by the neat and orderly appearance of 
his premises and the general air of thrift and 
good management, his farm being one of the 
best in this locality. He is engaged in gen- 
eral husbandry and dairying, keeping twelve 
cows and some valuable young cattle. He is 
a Republican in politics, and his served as 
Selectman. 

Mr. Willcutt and Elvira Shaw, daughter of 
Ebenezer Shaw, were united in marriage on 
April 16, 1840. They journeyed together 
through life's sunshine and its storms more 
than fifty years. Of the five children who 
came to brighten their home two, Sylvanus 
and Guilford, were soon taken away. Those 



442 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



remaining are: Brackley H., who was born 
March 30, 1848, and now assists his father in 
managing the farm; Clarinda E., born April 
30, 1852, residing at home; Flora P., born 
March 24, 1859, who married William H. 
Merritt, a prosperous farmer of Goshen. The 
mother, too, was called to the home above on 
March 19, 1892, in her seventieth year. Mr. 
Willcutt is a Spiritualist in his religious 
belief, holding in the firm grasp of faith 

•• The truth, to flesh and sense unknown. 
That Life is ever Lord of Death, 
And Love can never lose its own." 




MARY C. WASHBURN, 
widow of the late Luther Ingersoll 
Washburn, was born in Boston, 
January 5, 1822, daughter of William and 
Sarah (Skelton) Todd. Mrs. Washburn comes 
from Revolutionary ancestry. Her great- 
grandfather, William Todd, was a Lieutenant 
in the Colonial army. His commission, 
which bears the date of October 10, 1778, and 
sixteen signatures, including the names of 
John Hancock and John Avery, Secretary, 
was issued by the Council of the Colony of 
Massachusetts Bay. 

William Todd, the father of Mrs. Wash- 
burn, was a Bostonian by birth and education, 
but spent his last years in Northampton, 
dying June 23, 1846, aged sixty-seven years. 
While staying in London, England, in 1806, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Skelton; 
and they afterward made that city their home 
for several years. Their eldest child, Emma 
Todd, was born in London, August 20, 18 10, 
and became the wife of Calvin Darling, of 
New York. She died in Boston, January 5, 
1841 ; and her body was laid to rest in the 
family tomb in the Central Burying-ground 
on Boston Common, near Boylston Street. 



Their second child, William, died in London 
in 18 1 7. Mrs. Washburn, the third child, is 
the subject of this sketch. Julia, the young- 
est child, was born in 1823 in Boston, and 
died in Northampton, January 10, 1890, hav- 
ing been a lifelong invalid. The mother also 
passed her closing years in this city, and died 
November 10, 1853, aged sixty-five years. 

Mrs. Washburn was educated in a Quaker 
school, under the tuition of Dr. Earle's sister, 
and later at a school in Northampton. She 
lived with her parents until her marriage with 
Mr. Washburn, October 30, 1851. Prior to 
his death, which occurred in October, 1859, 
Mr. Washburn was one of the leading mer- 
chants of Northampton. Although a com- 
paratively young man, being then in his 
fortieth year, he had won an assured position 
in business circles and among the most influ- 
ential citizens of the place. He dealt exten- 
sively in hardware, and had a large patronage 
in the town and the surrounding country. He 
was a son of Luther Washburn, a well-known 
lawyer of Pittsfield, Mass., where his birth 
occurred July 18, 1774, and his death in 
1838. He married Mary Ingersoll ; and they 
reared but two of their children, a daughter 
and Luther Ingersoll Washburn, the husband 
of the subject of this sketch. The maternal 
grandfather of Mr. Washburn, Jared Ingersoll, 
was a lifelong resident of Pittsfield, born 
October 29, 1745, and dying February 2, 
1835. He married Hildah (Kilborn) Brown, 
the widow of Colonel John Brown, of Revo- 
lutionary fame. 

Mrs. Washburn has two sons, namely: 
Henry Todd Washburn, a salesman in the 
wholesale establishment of Walker, Stetson 
& Sawyer, Boston; and Frank Ingersoll 
Washburn, a manufacturer of jewelry in 
Springfield, Mass, neither of whom is mar- 
ried. Mrs. Washburn is a very agreeable 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



445 



woman, an intelligent and entertaining con- 
versationalist, and has a large circle of warm 
friends. Her home has many valued relics, 
among them being a silver tankard made by 
Paul Revere from silver melted down by her 
grandmother. 




ILL I AM H. GAYLORD, a retired 
manufacturer and much esteemed 
citizen of South Hadley, was born 
in that town, April 9, 1821, son of Moses 
and Jerusha (Smith) Gaylord. Mr. Gaylord's 
father was also a native of South Hadley, and 
followed agriculture throughout his life. He 
became prominent in public affairs, held vari- 
ous town offices, and was highly respected. 
He died December 24, 1824. His wife bore 
him seven children, as follows: Lorenzo, 
John, Philotas, and Moses, Jr., all deceased; 
Roxana, who resides in South Hadley Falls; 
Simeon, who is also deceased; and William 
H., the subject of this sketch. The mother 
died May 14, 1858. 

William H. Gaylord received his education 
in the district schools. At the age of twenty 
years he became an employee of the sash and 
door factory, now conducted by Howard, Gay- 
lord & Burnett. He continued steadily in 
that employment until his circumstances en- 
abled him to purchase an interest in the busi- 
ness. His connection with the firm, both as 
employee and partner, had lasted forty years, 
when he retired from active participation in 
its affairs. He, however, retained a fifth 
interest in the concern. He is also finan- 
cially interested in several other business 
ventures, and is at present successfully con- 
ducting a farm. Mr. Gaylord takes a deep 
interest in the welfare of his town, and has 
been closely connected with many of the most 
important improvements therein. He has 
lately ordered a costly and handsome monu- 



ment in stone to the memory of soldiers who 
fought in the late war, to be erected in the 
park, on a site opposite the church. Mr. 
Gaylord was formerly a Whig in politics, but 
joined the Republican part}-, which he now 
supports: and, though frequently called upon 
to accept office, he has always declined. 

On September 8, 1858, Mr. Gaylord was 
united in marriage to Miss Betsey Stone, of 
Madison Count)'. New York, where she was 
born, December 25, 1832, daughter of Sam- 
uel and Lucy (Howard) Stone. The father 
was a native of Connecticut, and the mother 
of Massachusetts. Both are now deceased. 
Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord had one son, Burton 
Wright, who died March 26, 1880. They are 
members of the Congregational church, and 
take an active interest in church work. Mr. 
Gaylord has presented the society with a fine 
organ, in memory of his son. 



M 



AVID P. BILLINGS, a retired mer- 
chant of Ware, was born in Hard- 
wick, Mass., June 1, 1S10, son of 
David and Elizabeth (Pearce) Billings, the 
former of whom was a native of the same 
place. 

His paternal great-grandfather, who was a 
patriot soldier of the Revolutionary War, was 
the father of a large family of sons and daugh- 
ters. His grandfather, Asahel Billings, who 
was born in Sunderland, Mass., in 1737, left 
there when a young man to settle in Hard- 
wick, where he became a successful farmer. 
Yet he fought for his country in the War ol 
1S12. He married Miss Hannah Robinson, 
of Barre, ALis^.. and by the union became the 
father of several children. She lived ovei 
ninety years, and he lived nearly a century. 
Their son, David Billings, chose medicine for 
his profession, and for many years was sui - 



1 1 1 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



cessfully engaged in active practice in the 
town of Hardwick. He also owned the farm 
upon which his father settled, and which has 
been in the family for over a century. He 
died there at sixty-two years of age; and his 
wife, Elizabeth Pearce, lived to be seventy- 
five years old. They reared three of the four 
sons and four daughters that were born of 
their union. 

David P. Hillings, who is now the only 
living child of his parents, spent his early 
years on a farm, where he became familiar 
with the duties of a farm life. At the same 
time he acquired a good common-school edu- 
cation, which was supplemented by a two 
years' course at a seminary. At nineteen 
years of age he taught his first term of 
school, and continued to follow that employ- 
ment for two winters. When he was twenty- 
three years of age, he secured a position as 
salesman in a general store in Palmer, Mass. 
This position he left in i S 3 7 , to open a gen- 
eral store in Ware, Mass., in company with 
his brother-in-law, Dwight Foster. They 
carried the business on together until Mr. 
Foster's death. Thereafter Mr. Billings con- 
ducted the store alone for twenty-eight years 
witli continued success. In 1850 he pur- 
chased the lot opposite his residence, on 
which he now has four tenements under rent. 
He also has about fifteen acres on Muddy 
Brook, just outside the village. He retired 
from active business in 1863, and during 
much of the time since then has been a 
sufferer from rheumatism. 

While engaged as a salesman in Palmer, 
he met Miss Betsey Foster, to whom he was 
married on April 5, 1837. She is a daughter 
of Wilson and Prudence (Brown) Foster, and 
a grand-daughter of Bryant Foster and Solo- 
mon Brown. Her father was a successful 
agriculturist of Palmer, Mass. He died there 



in 1864, nearly eighty-seven years of age. 
His wife bore him eight children, as follows: 
Rebecca, wife of Luke Hitchcock, of Palmer; 
Keyes Foster, a successful agriculturist, who 
died at the age of seventy-seven years, leaving 
a son and daughter; Sally, who married James 
Deans, of Eastford, Conn., and died when 
fifty years old, leaving two sons and a daugh- 
ter; Dwight, who was at one time in partner- 
ship with Mr. Billings; Salina, who married 
Shepard Blair, of Warren, Mass., who died 
when thirty-eight years of age; John, a retired 
farmer, who died in Palmer in March, 1895; 
Betsey, wife of Mr. Billings; and Freeman 
S., a prosperous farmer residing in Palmer, 
who has one daughter living. Mr. and Mrs. 
Billings were the parents of a son and daugh- 
ter, namely: Henry, who died in 1842, at the 
age of four years and six months; and Henri- 
etta, who died March 20, 1845, aged two 
years and seven months. 

In politics Mr. Billings is a Republican. 
He has rendered faithful service in various 
town offices. He has been Selectman, Over- 
seer of the Poor, and for ten years Collector 
of Taxes. He has for over thirty years been 
a Director in the National Bank, and has also 
taken an active part in church work. Both 
he and his wife, who is an estimable woman, 
are members of the Congregational church; 
and he was at one time superintendent of the 
Sunday-school. They reside at 30 Church 
Street, a fine dwelling erected on the lot pur- 
chased by him in 1840. 




HARLES RANNENBERG, a retired 
business man of South Had ley Falls, 
Hampshire County, Mass., was 
born in Einbeck, Hanover, Germany, January 
5, 1824, son of Henry and Dora T. (Sharfen- 
berg) Rannenberg. Mr. Rannenberg's father 




Mr. and Mrs. CHARLES RANNENBERG. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



44> 



was a stone mason, and followed that occupa- 
tion for many years. He assisted in con- 
structing the bridge which connects Einbeck 
with Kupfenthal, and during His latter years 
was an overseer. He died April 24, i860, 
lie was an intelligent and well-known man, 
highly respected in his community. Henry 
Rannenberg"s wife, who died November 22, 
1889, was the mother of four children, as fol- 
lows: Hammond, who is engaged in agricult- 
ural pursuits in Dane County, Wisconsin; 
Charles, the subject of this sketch; Dora T., 
who married and resides in Einbeck: and 
William, who is an overseer in a cutlery fac- 
tory in Shelburne Falls, Mass. 

Charles Rannenberg received his education 
in the schools of Germany, and attended a 
business college. He acquired the trade oi a 
weaver, and at the age of twenty-five years 
emigrated to the United States, first settling 
in Thompsonville, Conn., where he remained 
for one year. He came to South Hadley 
Falls when the Glasgow Mills were opened, 
and was first employed as a section hand, but 
lose step by step from one position to another, 
until he was appointed superintendent, a post 
which he resigned in 1876, after having been 
in the company's employ for over twenty-seven 
years. Mr. Rannenberg then engaged in the 
manufacture of brick, in which he enjoyed 
a merited prosperity until 1882, when he sold 
his enterprise to the Lander Brothers, of Hol- 
yoke. and practically retired from active busi- 
ness pursuits. He has invested extensively 
in real estate, both in South Hadley Falls and 
Holyoke, and has erected several houses, his 
speculations in this direction having been 
productive of satisfactory financial results. 
Mr. Rannenberg owes his success in life to 
the spirit of energy and perseverance which 
form the principal elements in his character, 
and were the only capital he possessed. In 



politics he has always voted with the Republi- 
can party, and although well qualified to hold 
office has never aspired to political honors. 

On November 14, 1848, Mr. Rannenberg 
was united in marriage with Amelia Winter. 
She was born in Einbeck, Germany, January 
24, 1829, daughter of Frederick and Margaret 
Winter, the former of whom was a German 
military officer, and his wife was of English 
ancestry. They died in Germany. Mr. and 
Mrs. Rannenberg have two children, namely: 
Charles W., who married Clara Rockwood, 
and resides in Springfield. Mass., where he is 
employed as a travelling salesman by the 
Moody Provision Company; and Matilda, wife 
of Charles Axman, a book-binder in Holyoke, 
who resides in South Hadley Falls. Mr. and 
Mrs. Rannenberg were members of the Lu- 
theran Church in German), but have never 
united with any religions society in the 
United States. Their children attend the 
Congregational church. 

An excellent likeness of Mr. Rannenberg 
appears in connection with the foregoing 
sketch. 



W} 



V. ARTHUR C. TOWNSEND, 

pastor of the Congregational church 
of Westhampton, was born in Han- 
over, Oxford County, Me., October 8, 1859. 
His early life was spent on his father's farm 
in Mars Hill, Aroostook County, Me., his 
father, Seward P. Townsend, having become 
a pioneer in that portion of the State while 
the subject of this sketch was an infant. The 
Rev. Mr. Townsend's father now resides with 
his eldest son in Easton, Me. He married 
Harriet X. Pierce, of New Gloucester, Me., 
who bore him four children, namely: Herbert 
L., of Easton, Me.; Orlando O, of Boston; 
Arthur C. ; and Emily A., who died in Sep- 
tember, 1 88 1, at the age of nineteen years. 



448 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



Her death was followed by that of her mother 
in December of the same year. 

The Rev. Arthur C. Townsend, like many 
of our men who occupy places of distinction 
in the mercantile, political, scientific, or lit- 
erary world, was bred to agricultural pursuits. 
Until he attained his majority, he remained 
with his parents, assisting in the various 
employments of the farm, while gleaning the 
elements of his education at the district 
schools and in select schools near by. At the 
age of seventeen he began to teach in the 
schools of his own town. 

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Townsend 
left home, and went to Lewiston, Me., where 
he found employment in a woollen-mill. 
After a year spent in Oxford County, partly 
in this work and partly in a saw-mill, he 
wisely decided to invest his modest savings in 
gratifying a long-cherished desire for further 
study, and entered the middle class of the 
Maine Central Institute, in the village of 
Pittsfield, Me. Here he studied three terms 
of the four that made the school year. The 
following autumn, after a summer spent in an 
unsuccessful attempt to replenish his depleted 
funds by canvassing for books, finding himself 
unable to return to Pittsfield, a way was provi- 
dentially opened for him to enter Nichols 
Latin School in Lewiston. Here he studied 
during his senior year, receiving at his grad- 
uation the first prize for excellence of schol- 
arship. After a summer spent as clerk at a 
seashore hotel Mr. Townsend entered Bates 
College in Lewiston. While there he was 
prominent in its literary circles, being for 
one year literary editor of the Bates Student, 
the college magazine. During his Junior and 
Senior years and a portion of the following 
year he taught mathematics in Nichols Latin 
School. At graduation he received first honor 
in the department of mathematics. 



While attending school Mr. Townsend be- 
came a professed Christian, and united with 
the Main Street Free Baptist Church in Lew- 
iston. After graduation he began to study 
for the Christian ministry in Cobb Divinity 
School, a department of Bates College. Dur- 
ing the following summer he supplied the 
vacant pulpit of the First Congregational 
Church of Falmouth, Me. From there in- the 
fall he went to Yale University, where he 
studied two years, graduating in 1891. The 
intervening summer he spent in home mission 
work at East Madison, Me. During his Sen- 
ior year he received a call to his present pas- 
torate; and, having already transferred his 
church membership to the Center Church 
(Congregational) of New Haven, he accepted, 
and was ordained in Westhampton, June 10, 
1891, becoming the successor of many emi- 
nent men, who labored so faithfully to 
advance the moral and spiritual interests of 
Hampshire County, sowing seed from which 
abundant harvests have been reaped. 

The Congregational church at Westhamp- 
ton is one of the oldest organizations of the 
town, which was incorporated in 1778. The 
church is nearly as old, its centennial having 
been celebrated September 3, 1879. On Au- 
gust 11, 1779, prior to the formation of a 
religious society, the pioneer settlers of the 
town, mostly men who had been reared in 
the Congregational faith, extended a call to 
the Rev. Enoch Hale, grandfather of the Rev. 
Dr. Edward Everett Hale, of Boston, to be- 
come their pastor. He heeded the call, and 
on September 29, 1779, was ordained pastor, 
the church having been organized in the 
interim. He died in this town, January 14, 
1837; but his influence for good is still felt 
in the community. The next pastor, Horace 
B. Chapin, was installed July 8, 1829, and 
dismissed February 29, 1837. He was fol- 




ELISHA A. EDWARDS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW- 



IS' 



lowed by the Rev. Amos Drury, who was 
installed June 28, 1837, and died July 22, 
1841. His successor, the Rev. David Cog- 
gin, was installed May 11, 1842, and died 
April 28, 1852. The Rev. Andrew Bigelow 
was installed March 2, 1854, anil was dis- 
missed April iS, 1855. On November 20, 
1856, the Rev. Roswell Foster was installed, 
and on December 29, 1858, was dismissed. 
The Rev. Edwin C. Bissell was ordained Sep- 
tember 21, 1859, and dismissed May 10, 1864. 
The Rev. Thomas Allender was installed 
June 21, 1866, and died September 17, 1869. 
He was succeeded by the Rev. F. P. Barnard, 
who was installed June 30, 1870, and dis- 
missed July 1, 1873. The Rev. Joseph Lan- 
man was installed June 3, 1874, and dismissed 
September 11, 1876. The Rev. Edward S. 
Palmer was installed December 7, 1876, and 
dismissed April 20, 1881. He was succeeded 
by the Rev. William C. Seofield, who was 
acting pastor of the church from October 1, 
1 88 1, until December 7, 1884. The Rev. 
A. E. Todd, the next pastor of the church, 
ministered to the congregation from Januarv 
1, 1886, until January 7, 1S91, being then 
succeeded by its present beloved pastor, the 
Rev. Arthur C. Townsend. This church is 
in a most flourishing condition, having now a 
membership of two hundred and forty souls. 
Its clerk is Frederick 11. Judd; and its dea- 
cons, William I. Edwards, A. D. Montague, 
A. G. Jewett, and F. D. Bridgman; while 
the church committee consists of the pastor 
and deacons, with R. W. Clapp, Theophilus 
Edwards, Mrs. E. W. Kingsley, and Mrs. 
A. C. Shepherd. The treasurer is Deacon 
Alfred D. Montague. 

Before the erection of any building for 
religious worship, divine service was held 
alternate Sundays at the home of Captain 
Azariah Lyman, in the south part of the town, 



and at Nathan Clark's house, in the northern 
section. The first church was completed in 
1789, although services were held in it for 
some four years prior to that date. In 18 16, 
the church becoming dilapidated and not suf- 
ficiently large to accommodate its increasing 
numbers, it was removed; and a larger and 
more substantial edifice was reared, it being 
one of the finest church buildings in Western 
Massachusetts. On February 17, 1829, it 
was destroyed by fire; and on the 29th of 
December, the same year, the present hand- 
some structure was dedicated to the worship 
of God. In 1883 the church was entirely re- 
modelled and refurnished, and a conveniently 
arranged kitchen and dining-room were added; 
and since that time it has been kept in excel- 
lent repair. 

On December 15, 1891, Mr. Townsend was 
united in marriage to Miss Ina F. Cobb, who 
had been a classmate with him in Bates Col- 
lege, and who was the daughter of Thomas S. 
Cobb, of Poland, Me., where she was born 
January 7, 1865. Their union has been hal- 
lowed by the birth of two sons. 




OLONEL ELISHA A. EDWARDS, 
a well-known, public-spirited, and 

, -- influential citizen of Hampshire 

County, was bom in Southampton, Mass., 
March 25, [824. He is of Welsh origin, the 
emigrant ancestor having been Alexander Ed- 
wards, whd left Wales in 1640, and after his 
arrival in this State settled in Springfield. 
On April 28, [642, he married Sarah Searl, 
and in 1655 moved to Northampton, where he 
died September 4, [690. 'if his eight chil- 
dren, Samuel, burn March 7, [643, was the 
next in the line now being considered. He 
married Sarah Boykin, daughter of James Boy- 
kin, of New Haven, Conn. ; and they reared 



i : ■ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



six children, their eldest son being Samuel 
Edwards, Jr., who was born March 26, 1676, 
and died March 8, 1749. His first wife, 
Mercy Pomeroy, whom he married in 1708, 
died in 1712; and he subsequently married 
Sarah Pomeroy, of Colchester, Conn. He- 
reared nine children, including Samuel, the 
third, born September 12, 1716, and Noah, 
born June 6, 1722. 

Noah Edwards was married June 28, 1749, 
to Jerusha Alvord, who died in 1798. In his 
old age, September 11, 1799, he married 
widow Elizabeth Wright, with whom he lived 
until his death, September 3, 1805. Justin, 
the second of his eight children, was born in 
1752. He married Elizabeth Clark in 1778, 
and afterward removed to Westhampton, where 
she died December 6, 1792. On January 1, 
1795, he married Mary Bartlett, a niece of 
Phoebe Bartlett, whose early history is given 
in President Edwards's work on "Revivals." 
Justin Edwards died October 6, 1816. By 
his first wife he had four children: Dotia, 
Jesse, Justin (the Rev. Dr. Edwards), and 
Elizabeth. His second wife bore him three 
children: Sarah, who died in infancy; Mary; 
and William. 

Samuel Edwards, born in 1716, was the 
grandfather of the late Professor Bela B. Ed- 
wards and also of Elisha Edwards, father of 
Colonel Elisha A. He served in the Revolu- 
tionary War. The elder Elisha Edwards was 
married in 1792. His son Elisha, who was 
burn April 22, 1793, and died April 26, 1868, 
married Julia King, who was born in October, 
1798, and died in 1838. They were the par- 
ents of eight children; namely, Horace, Elisha 
A., Julia A., Charles L. , Elizabeth, Caroline, 
Eunice M., and George K. The father, I-L 1 i - 
sha, Jr., was a soldier in the War of 1812. 

Horace, born November 22, 1822, died De- 
cember 23, 1846. Julia, born September 29, 



1826, became the wife of the Rev. Cornelius 
H. Taylor, D. D., a Presbyterian minister; 
and he died in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 25, 
1875, leaving four children: Edwards C. , 
Frank L. , Julia K., and Kirke H. Charles L. , 
born October 19, 1828, now a coal dealer and 
insurance agent at Lawrence, Kan., married 
Susan Powers, of North Hadley; and of the 
three children born to them one is now living, 
Virginia S. Elizabeth, born December 10, 
1830, married Martin L. Gaylord (graduate 
of Amherst College), a farmer in Easthampton, 
and they have three children: Lucy P., Edith 
E., and Winfred M. Caroline, born Feb- 
ruary 23, 1833, is a resident of Southampton. 
Eunice M., born May 6, 1835, and now living 
in Colorado, is the widow of the late George 
L. Gaylord, and has two children, Lewis and 
Edwards K. 

George K., the youngest son, born April 
28, 1838, grew to manhood in Southampton, 
and there lived until his enlistment in Com- 
pany B, Thirty-first Massachusetts Volunteer 
Infantry, in October, 1861. Going South 
with his regiment, he was engaged in the bat- 
tles of the forts before New Orleans, which 
the Union army took possession of in April 
1862. On July 7, 1862, he was discharged 
for disability. On January 1, 1863, he re-en- 
listed, was commissioned First Lieutenant, 
and mustered into service March 2, in Com- 
pany A, Second District of Columbia Volun- 
teer Infantry, being at first stationed at 
Washington Heights, and going thence to 
Alexandria, and from there to different places 
in the South. He displayed great bravery 
in several engagements. On September 12, 
1865, he was discharged, and came home in 
poor health and suffering from injuries he had 
received by falling from the upper deck of a 
steamboat, a distance of twenty feet, and strik- 
ing on a barrel. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



453 



On December 15, 1864, George K. "Edwards 
was united in marriage with Martha I.. 
Lyman, who was horn December 8, [838, in 
Chester, Mass., daughter of Stephen and Julia 
(Searl) Lyman. The only child born of their 
union died in infancy. They have since 
adopted a little girl, Ethel Ma)-, bom May 1, 
1887. Mr. Lyman was born December 24, 
181 1, married Julia Searl, April 28, 1830, and 
died April 11, 1889. Mrs. Julia S. Lyman is 
still living in Southampton, quite advanced in 
years, her birth having occurred June 21, 
1 S 1 5. She bore hoi- husband five children, of 
whom but two now survive. One daughter, 
Harriet Eliza (deceased), married the Rev. 
William R. Stocking, of Williamstown, 
Mass., and went to Persia as a missionary. 
Stephen Lyman was the eldest son of Samuel 
Lyman, who was born at Chester, May 2, 
17S9, and who served in the War of 181 J, in 
Colonel I'.nos Foot's regiment. lie was a 
Deacon of the Congregational church of 
Chester for over twenty years. ( )n ( )ctober 
26, 1809, he married Marian S. Tinker; and 
they reared ten children. 

Elisha A. Edwards, the second child born 
to Elisha and Julia (King) Edwards, was 
reared to man's estate in his native town. 
Early in life he chose farming as his principal 
vocation, and engaged in tilling the soil dur- 
ing the summer months and in teaching school 
in the winters for several years. At the age 
of sixteen he joined the militia, and, being- 
promoted from time to time, became Colonel 
of the regiment, resigning his position after 
eight years' service. On October 1, 1861, 
inspired by patriotic ardor, Colonel Edwards 
enlisted in defence of his country, raising a 
company of over one hundred men, they going 
into camp as Company B, Thirty-first Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry, in Pittsfield, re- 
moving thence to Lowell, Mass., and after- 



ward to Boston. From there the regiment 
went South, marching into New Orleans Ma) 
1, 1862. The Colonel was taken sick while 
in that city, and after lying there for weeks 
received his discharge, September 5, 1862. 

After his return to Southampton Colonel 
Edwards was for a long time unable to engage 
in business; but since recovering his health he- 
has taken an active part in the management of 
local public affairs, being an earnest supporter 
of the Republican party. He has served as 
Moderator at the annual town meetings for 
more than a score of years, as Town Clerk 
thirteen years, as Selectman and Assessoi 
three years, as Justice of the Peace for forty- 
four years, and is now serving his twenty- 
eighth year as a member of the Board of 
Count}- Commissioners, twenty-four years of 
which he has been its chairman. He has 
also served as Postmaster of Southampton. 
Colonel Edwards has always been deeply in- 
terested in Masonry, and belongs to Jerusalem 
Lodge ol Northampton. He is likewise a 
member of the William L. Baker Post, No. 
86, Grand Army of the Republic. He and 
his family are members of the Congregational 
church and useful workers in that denomina- 
tion. In financial circles the Colonel is favor- 
ably known throughout this part of Massachu- 
setts, having been one of the incorporators of 
the Hampshire Savings Bank of Northampton, 
of which he has been one of the Trustees ever 
since the bank was started. He is a Trustee 
of the Sheldon Academy Corporation, and has 
also been Secretary and Treasurer for nearly 
thirty years. He is likewise President and 
Trustee of the Southampton Library Associa- 
tion. In 1857 Colonel Edwards visited Kan- 
sas with a view of locating there, and for a 
few months was book-keeper for the National 
Kansas Aid Society of Lawrence. 

On the 1 2th of May, 1846, Colonel Klisha 



4S4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



A. Edwards was united in marriage with 
Henrietta L. Sheldon, who was born July 
3, 1825, in Southampton. Mrs. Edwards is a 
daughter of the late Captain Silas and Anna 
(King) Sheldon, the latter of whom died in 
1892. Captain Sheldon and his wife were the 
parents of seven children; namely, Emily, 
Silas B. , Henrietta L. , Lovisa S., Flavel K., 
Anna K., and Julia E., three of whom are 
yet living. Four children have been born of 
the union of Colonel and Mrs. Edwards, the 
following being a brief record: Alice Julia, 
born in September, 1848, was first married to 
George Boyd, and after his death became the 
wife of W. H. Lyman, by whom she has one 
child, George W. , born March 1, 18S9; Mr. 
Lyman is a travelling salesman, and resides 
in Springfield. Emma H., born December 
10, 1854, died July 11, 1890; she was the 
wife of the late Deacon L. R. Bartlett, of 
Westfield, Mass. Isabella G., born May 25, 
1856, is a resident of Springfield, Mass., and 
the widow of the late D. H. Bronson, who 
passed to the higher life July 6, 1891; Mr. 
and Mrs. Bronson became the parents of two 
children : Eugene, deceased, and Frederick 
E. , born in January, 1881. Anna K., the 
youngest child, born March 18, 1861, is the 
wife of William C. Sheldon, of Southampton. 
A lifelike portrait of Colonel Elisha A. Ed- 
wards accompanies this brief historical sketch 
of the ancient and honored Hampshire County 
family of which he is the worthy represent- 
ative. 



-OHN H. WIETHAUPER, superintend- 
ent of the L. L. Brown Paper Com- 
pany Mills of West Cummington, was 
born in Morristown, N.J., August 20, 1846, 
son of August G. and Mary (Corrington) 
Wiethauper. Mr. Wiethauper's father was a 
native of Germany, who, after serving seven 



years in apprenticeship at hand paper-making, 
emigrated to the United States in 1838, and 
settled in Morristown, N.J. He subsequently 
moved to Bloomfield, N.J., where he was em- 
ployed as superintendent, and in 1861 to Dal- 
ton, Mass., to fill a similar position in Crane 
& Co.'s paper-mills, which he held until 
1877. He died at the age of sixty-nine 
years. August Wiethauper was an expert in 
his calling and a highly esteemed citizen. 
His wife died at the age of fifty-one. 

John H. Wiethauper was educated in the 
public schools of Morristown. After gradu- 
ating from the high school, he commenced 
work in the paper-mills. In 1866 he entered 
the employ of Crane & Co. at Dalton, where 
under his father's direction he passed 
through the different branches of the trade, 
and became proficient in every detail of the 
business, from the manufacturing of the ordi- 
nary grades to the production of the finest 
bond and linen papers, and continued in the 
employ of the above company until in 1881 he 
was appointed superintendent of the L. L. 
Brown Paper Company Mills in West Cum- 
mington, a position which he has since filled 
with marked ability. These mills were 
erected in 1856 by J. D. Nelson; and in i860 
they came into the possession of the present 
company, of which C. C. Jenks is president, 
and A. B. Daniels is treasurer. The plant 
contains all modern improvements in the way 
of machinery; and, although water is de- 
pended upon for power, they have in reserve 
a one hundred horse power engine, with a 
one hundred and fifty horse-power boiler, 
which can furnish steam-power in case of 
accident or the failure of the water supply. 
They have a large reservoir upon the moun- 
tain for the purpose of supplying water to 
their tenants and to the town in case of fires. 
The company employs from twenty-five to 




E. THOMAS SAWYER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



457 



thirty skilled operatives, and owns a number 
of tenement-houses. The mills produce a 
superior quality of both bond and linen papers, 
which are widely known, and command a 
ready sale. The entire enterprise is under 
the direct supervision of Mr. Wiethauper, 
who, aside from overseeing the work of manu- 
facturing, has found time to effect a great 
deal of outside improvement in the way of 
grading and laving out of lawns and roads. 
Mr. Wiethauper married Sophronia Corn- 
stock, of Great Barrington, daughter of Will- 
iam Comstock. They have three children: J. 
Russell, Frank C, and John H., Jr. Mr. 
Wiethauper is a member of Berkshire Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., of Adams. He attends the 
Congregational church. 




SA C. SMITH, who for some years 
was identified with the manufacturing 
industries of Western Massachu- 
setts, is now a very successful farmer of Bel- 
chertown, where he was born, January 2, 
1847. His father, Lucius Smith, was born 
in Connecticut, March 21, 1S20; but his 
grandfather, Asa Smith, who was also a 
native of that State, moved to Massachusetts, 
and settled at Monson, Hampden County, 
where he engaged in milling. He afterward 
purchased a farm in the south part of Belcher- 
town. He married Miss Isabella Tyler; anil 
their children were: Asa, Tyler, Hannah, 
Lucius, and Ann. Lucius Smith received a 
common-school education, and in his early 
manhood assisted his father in the mill at 
Monson. Subsequent to their removal to 
South Belchertown he here devoted his time 
to farming. His first wife, whose maiden 
name was Lucretia Parsons, died soon after 
their marriage; and he wedded for his second 
wife Mrs. Thankful Hathaway Parsons, daugh- 



ter of Abner Hathaway, this union being 
blessed with but one son, Asa C. Smith, 
above-named. Lucius Smith died January 
14, 1883, his wife surviving until May 22, 
1893. 

Asa C. Smith pursued the usual course of 
study in the common schools of his native 
town, and, after attending the Bondville High 
School for two terms, entered the milling 
business at Granby, being then eighteen years 
old. Later he engaged in the same occupation 
at Tylerville. At the age of twenty-two years 
he was placed in charge of a room at the mills 
in Wales, Hampden County, Mass. ; and 
three years later he became superintendent, a 
position which he most ably filled tor a period 
of some years. He was engaged in the man- 
ufacturing industries until 18S3, when on 
account of poor health he purchased a farm 
of one hundred acres adjoining the old home- 
stead of his parents, and turned his attention 
to agricultural pursuits. He has continued 
thus engaged, and is exceedingly prosperous. 

On May 12, 1879, ne married Miss Carrie 
R. Burke, daughter of Edward and Jane 
Burke, of Monson. They have one daughter, 
Mabel M., who was born March 1, 18S0. 
Mr. Smith is an earnest Republican in poli- 
tics, and has served as a Selectman in Bel- 
chertown for seven consecutive years. 



ZRA THOMAS SAWYER, a prominent 
citizen of Fasthampton, where he is 
engaged in the manufacture of rub- 
ber thread, is a scion of an old family, mem- 
bers of which figured prominently in some 
of the early Massachusetts settlements. The 
first ancestor of the family in this country was 
Thomas Sawyer, who was born in 161 5, and in 
1635 came from Lincolnshire, England, and 
settled in Charlestown, Mass. In 1647 he 



I .V s 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



married Mary Prescott, daughter of John Pres- 
cott, and in 1653 removed to Lancaster, 

Mass., where his wife's father was one of the 
first settlers. Pie became a prominent man in 
that place, and was appointed by the General 
Court in 1657 as one of the commissioners "to 
govern the people." One of the five fortified 
houses in Lancaster belonged to him, and 
though several times assaulted by the Indians 
it was never captured. He died September 
12, 1706, aged ninety-one years. His family 
consisted of nine children, whose names and 
dates of birth were as follows: Thomas, July, 
1649; Ephraim, January, 1651; Mary, Janu- 
ary, 1653; Elizabeth, January, 1654; Joshua, 
March, 1655; James, March, 1657; Caleb, 
April, 1659; John, April, 1661 ; Nathaniel, 
November, 1670. Colonel William Prescott, 
of Bunker Hill fame, was a lineal descendant 
of John Prescott, of Lancaster. Thomas Saw- 
yer was married again in 1672. 

Thomas Sawyer, second, was a man Well 
versed in mechanics and of an inventive turn of 
mind. He was taken captive by Indians in 
1705, together with .his son Elias and another 
companion, and carried to Canada. After 
reaching Montreal he made a bargain with the 
Indians, offering to build a mill on the Cham- 
bly River on condition that he and his fellow- 
captives should be released; but the Indians 
proved treacherous and bound him to a stake 
with a view to immediate execution. He was 
saved, however, by the intervention of a friar, 
who, claiming to hold the keys of purgatory, 
threatened to unlock the gates and thrust them 
in if they persisted in their plans. It took 
Mr. Sawyer a year to complete the mill; and 
his son Elias was detained for a time longer, 
and employed to teach the Indians the art of 
sawing. Since the time of Thomas the name 
of Sawyer has been associated with mills in 
every generation. 



The family showed a martial spirit in the 
French and Indian War and during the Revo- 
lutionary struggle. Ephraim Sawyer, great- 
grandson of the first Thomas Sawyer men- 
tioned above, and born in Lancaster, Mass., 
in 1719, was chosen one of the first "perma- 
nent commissioners of correspondance, " Sep- 
tember 5, 1774, and was one of a special com- 
mission of three to whom taxes were paid. 
He was also one of the "commissioners of cor- 
respondance of nine," called March 6, 1776, 
this being the last occasion when the Select- 
men based their action upon the authority of 
the king. He served under King George as 
Lieutenant in the French and Indian War, 
and years later, at the battle of Lexington, 
was a Major in Colonel John Whitcomb's 
regiment of minute-men. He also fought in 
the same regiment at the battle of Bunker 
Hill. This regiment also took part in the 
siege of Boston and the battles of Long Island, 
Trenton, Princeton, Brandy wine, Germantown. 
At Dobbs Ferry, Major Sawyer led his regi- 
ment as Lieutenant Colonel, and later was 
present at the battle of Saratoga, when Bur- 
goyne surrendered. His five sons, James (who 
was but fourteen years old at the battle of 
Bunker Hill), Ephraim, John, Josiah, and 
Peter, also fought through the war. The 
name of another member of the family, Ezra 
Sawver, appears, with rank of private, on the 
Lexington alarm roll of Captain Samuel 
Sawyer's company, Colonel John Whitcomb's 
regiment, his military record being on file in 
the office of the Secretary of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts. 

Ezra Thomas Sawyer, the special subject of 
this sketch, is descended from Thomas Sawyer, 
second, and is the son of l^zra and PTiza 
(Houghton) Sawyer, and grandson of a later 
Thomas Sawyer, who was a prosperous farmer 
of Sterling:, Mass. Pie was born in Lancas- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



459 



ter, Mass., January 4, 1829, and received his 
education in the public schools of his native- 
town. At the age of sixteen years he began 
to learn the machinist's trade with Otis Tufts, 
then located on Bromfield Street, Boston, and 
remained with him four years. At the age of 
twenty he was employed to run a locomotive 
on the Worcester & Nashua Railroad, then 
just completed, and for a period of seven years 
served as locomotive engineer on that road and 
on the Erie and Hudson River Railroads. 
After leaving the railroad service he was 
employed for one year in the engineer's depart- 
ment of the Brooklyn navy yard, and then 
received an appointment as engineer on board 
the Vanderbilt steamer "Ariel," running be- 
tween New York and Bremerhafen. After 
two years in that ship he came to Easthamp- 
ton, Mass., and as a machinist entered the 
employ of his brother, Edmund H. Sawyer, 
who was there located as treasurer and agent of 
the Nashawannuck Manufacturing Company. 

In 1 861, the Goodyear Elastic Fabric Com- 
pany, now known as the Glendale Company, 
was organized in Easthampton ; and Mr. Saw- 
yer was appointed superintendent and general 
agent. He remained in that position until 
1873, and was then made treasurer of the East- 
hampton Rubber Thread Company, acting in 
that capacity until 1891. In the latter year 
he was made president and general manager, 
and has so continued up to the present time. 
During his administration of the affairs of the 
company, covering a period of twenty years, 
it has been in a flourishing condition. The 
present company was organized in 1864, and 
has now a capital of four hundred thousand dol- 
lars. Aside from the offices which he holds 
in this company, he is a Director in the First 
National Bank of Easthampton and in the 
.Nashawannuck and Glendale Companies, and 
is President of the Easthampton Gas Company. 



Mr. Sawyer has been twice married — first 
in 1853, in Lancaster, to Caroline Woodbury, 
daughter of Moses Howe, of Bolton, Mass. ; 
and second in 1884, in Toledo, Ohio, to Mrs. 
Mary E. (Montsarratt) Braisted, of Louisville, 
Ky. A son of Mr. Sawyer, Frank Ezra Saw 
yer, was graduated at the Annapolis Naval 
Academy, and is now a Lieutenant on board 
the United States man-of-war, " Philadel- 
phia. " 

An excellent likeness of Mr. Ezra Thomas 
Sawyer may be seen on a preceding page. The 
incidents in his life, briefly narrated in this 
sketch, sufficiently indicate his character. 
With an early education limited to the com- 
mon schools, nothing but a natural faculty 
inherited from a line of energetic and capable 
ancestors, the fullest improvement of every 
opportunity for advancement, a determination 
to perform thoroughly every duty within the 
present sphere of action, an avoidance of all 
those distracting allurements which in politics 
and speculation are the shoals and rocks 
wrecking so many of our business men, and 
withal an integrity above suspicion, could have 
borne him along from the machinist's bench 
in Boston through all the stages of his career 
to the responsible post he now occupies with 
profit and honor to himself and with remunera 
tive returns to those whose trust he admin- 
isters. With abundant means, a handsome 
estate, a house to which taste and refinement 
have contributed their share of grace, and a 
home to which the happiest domestic relations 
lend their charm, Mr. Sawyer is enjoying the 
later years of his life in well-deserved ease 
and content. 



—*-*••-*- 




|DWARD P. BLODGETT, the subject 
of the following sketch, was born in 
East Windsor, Conn., August 23, 
181 5. When he had reached the early age of 



460 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



nine months, his parents, Cephas and Huldah 
(Gaylord) Blodgett, removed to Amherst, 
Mass. His father was a well-to-do farmer, 
and purchased and was in unencumbered pos- 
session of the farm in Mill Valley, now and for 
many years known as the Gaylord estate. By 
an unfortunate combination of circumstances 
he became involved in business complications 
by which he lost his beautiful farm, and 
became hence onward a poor man, dependent 
on his daily toil in the service of others for 
the support of his family. At what age our 
subject was at the time of this great misfort- 
une he has no recollection, or what took place 
during those early years of boyhood he has no 
power to recall; but all the advantages which 
the district school of seventy years ago 
afforded were his. Amherst Academy, which 
in due time became Amherst College, opened 
its doors to him, as well. At the age of 
eleven years he was called to the trial of 
leaving home and going away to work on a 
farm at the rate of four dollars per month for 
six months of the year. This continued for 
six years successively, between the ages of 
eleven and seventeen. And it may fittingly 
be said that those six years were no unimpor- 
tant factor in laying the foundation of that 
physical development and health which to a 
remarkable degree have been his inheritance 
through a long life. 

At the age of seventeen the farm was aban- 
doned with the purpose of entering upon a 
course of study in preparation for the Chris- 
tian ministry. After reading the biographies 
of such men as David Brainard and Henry 
Martyn, it was impressed upon him that his 
life work must be to preach the gospel — a mis- 
sionary, if the way should be opened ; if not, 
an humble messenger of the truth in the home 
land. But how should those years of study 
and toil and discipline, so needful for a fitness 



for the work, be passed through? He was 
poor, scarcely a dollar with which to launch 
upon the untried ocean. But the attempt was 
made, with the hope and in the faith that the 
desired haven would be reached. His par- 
ents, though poor and unable to render finan- 
cial aid, did all that kindness and sympathy 
could do, cheerfully relinquishing all claim to 
his services until of age. He entered upon 
the classical course in Amherst Academy in 
the autumn of 1832, boarding at home in Mill 
Valley, where his parents still resided, and a 
part of the time at another home under the 
very shadow of the college, in the family of 
Lucius Boltwood, Esq., whom he will ever 
have occasion to remember with gratitude. 
He entered Amherst College in the autumn of 
1834, when that institution was only thirteen 
years old, and in 1838 graduated from it. 
During those years of college life his experi- 
ence was a marvel of personal history, as it 
pertains to the opening of God's providence in 
the removal of obstacles in the way of the 
accomplishment of his purpose. During the 
first year after leaving college Edward Blodg- 
ett was engaged in teaching, greatly to his 
advantage. The Mount Holyoke Seminary at 
South Hadley had just opened its doors, with 
that marvellous woman, Mary Lyon, at its 
head. It was Mr. Blodgett's privilege to be 
in charge of a school from which young women 
entered that institution; and he was thereby 
brought into touch with that seminary, now 
college, which for the past nearly sixty years 
has had such a power in human welfare. 

In the autumn of 1839 Mr. Blodgett was 
led to leave the home of his childhood and go 
to Andover; and the journey thither, instead 
of being made in a few hours in a luxurious 
car, occasioned many a wearisome hour in rid- 
ing in a lumbering stage-coach, which left at 
early dawn Elijah Boltwood's tavern in Am- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



461 



herst for Worcester. But Andover was 
reached — a stranger in a strange land, Pro- 
fessor Park being the only man there he had 
ever seen. He received him into his home as 
kindly as if he had been a son. Those were 
the days of Moses Stuart and Bela B. Ed- 
wards, names that have been a tower of 
strength in the history of that seminary. A 
room was soon assigned him in Phillips Hall, 
which afterward became so sacred in the study 
of the Hebrew Bible. And after fifty-six 
years it was his privilege in June last to go 
back and re-enter that room an:l those halls, 
and for forty and eight hours live over the 
experiences of the three years spent in prepa- 
ration for the ministry. The second year of 
his course he was invited by the principal of 
the Abbott Female Seminary to teach classes 
in Butler's Analogy and moral science, so 
connected with the very best preparation for 
his work. Not licensed until the Senior year, 
his first sermon was preached in the seminary 
chapel in the order of his turn. During the 
spring vacation of five weeks he was invited 
to Cornwall, Conn., to supply its pulpit. 
This invitation was accepted. After return- 
ing to graduate, he continued to supply the 
pulpit there during the autumn. From Corn- 
wall he went to Amherst, spending the winter 
of 1842 and 1843, preaching as opportunity 
opened. 

The first Sabbath in March following, Mr. 
Blodgett preached his first sermon in Green- 
wich, Mass., where he was ordained and in- 
stalled July 5, 1843, and where he preached 
his farewell sermon July 29, 1894, after a 
ministry of fifty-one years. Here has been 
his life work. The materials of this half cen- 
tury of service have accumulated so amply 
that much could readily be added, but the 
published anniversary sermons contain the 
substantial facts touching this history. On 



the 1 2th of July following his ordination he 
was married to his wife, Mary Sutton Webb, 
who for thirty-one years was a faithful and 
efficient helper in the work, sharing its joys 
and its sorrows, its defeats and its victories, 
until called higher. Ami, if in any way he 
has been successful in toil for Christ and the 
saving of men, he owes more to her wise coun- 
sels, her gentle ami winning words, and her 
life unselfishly devoted to the good of others 
than tongue can utter. This long ministry 
has been an exceedingly happy one. The 
bond of union through all the years was 
strong, and nothing occurred during the half- 
century to mar the fellowship. They dwelt 
together in unity with a mutual confidence 
that has been a source of perpetual joy. Dur- 
ing this period there have been preached four 
thousand sermons, many of which were re- 
peated in other churches with which the min- 
ister had close and tender relations. Mr. 
Blodgett has lived to see the pastors of these 
churches removed by death or otherwise, and 
the men now occupying these pulpits either 
unborn or in their early boyhood at the time 
of his entering the ministry. 

His relations to the town also were pleas- 
ant. He was called to bury its dead and to 
superintend the education of its children in 
its public schools. Some estimate of the 
changes that have taken place may be gathered 
from the fact that there have been followed 
through the gateway to the cemetery more 
dead than those living in the town to-day 
by a hundred people. During this period, 
while the town has decreased in population 
two hundred and fifty, the church has held its 
own numerically, notwithstanding the fact 
that within a small fraction it has sent away 
by letter two members where it has received 
one from others. With the exception of two 
or three individuals the entire present mem- 



462 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



bership have come into the church during this 
ministry. Such, in brief, are a few facts con- 
nected with the life and labors of Mr. Blodgett 
to the present time. " Having therefore 
obtained help of God, I continue unto this 
day. I cannot be too grateful to God that he 
has permitted me to preach the gospel of his 
Son so many years ; and, while looking back 
upon the long record, I feel humiliated under 
the consciousness of weakness and failure. 
I hope to find acceptance with him through 
his forgiving love and abounding grace. 
And, while I have retired from the cares and 
responsibilities of the pastoral office at the 
age of fourscore years, I desire not to be an 
idler in the great vineyard; but with what 
strength still remains it is my desire and pur- 
pose in some humble way to be true to the 
trust committed to me." 



YS)UCI 

IJT m; 



UCIEN BENNETT WILLIAMS, for 
many years an important factor in the 
■^ manufacturing interests of North- 
ampton, Mass., and one of its foremost citi- 
zens, was born in Becket, Berkshire County, 
on February 3, 1825. He died at his resi- 
dence in this city on July 23 of the present 
vear, 1 895. Mr. Williams was the repre- 
sentative of an early, settler of Hampshire 
County, his great-grandfather, Ebenezer Will- 
iams, who was born and reared in Canterbury, 
Conn., having removed from there to Worth- 
ington, Mass., in old Colonial times. This 
part of the country was then in its primeval 
wildness; and the journey hither was made 
by himself and family on horseback, following 
a path marked by blazed trees. 

Leonard Williams, son of Ebenezer, was a 
widely known physician of this county at an 
early period, being actively engaged in the 
duties of his profession fifty years. He began 



practice in Worthington, but in 1804 removed 
to Chester, which was later known as Hunt- 
ington. Dr. Williams married Olive Wads- 
worth, of Becket, who bore him three chil- 
dren: Jabin B., James Holland, and Arvilla 
A. The daughter was twice married, her first 
husband being Jonathan W. Bartlett, and her 
second Elias Ballon. She lived past middle 
age, and at her death left three children, of 
whom only one is now living. 

Jabin B. Williams was born January 5, 
1800, in Worthington, and was but four years 
old when his parents settled in Huntington, 
where he was reared, receiving a liberal 
schooling. On attaining his majority he re- 
moved to Becket, and there lived a short time, 
but soon returned to Huntington and estab- 
lished himself in mercantile business, opening 
a store of general merchandise, and carrying a 
varied assortment of goods. He was very suc- 
cessful, beginning with a small cash capital 
and gradually increasing his trade until he had 
one of the largest stores in the county, his 
straight-forward business methods winning him 
friends and customers. He remained in busi- 
ness until his decease in 1859. 

He married Lydia Wilson, of Huntington, 
a native of Woodstock, Conn., and they be- 
came the parents of six children, namely: 
Leonard Wilson, who died in Lenox, aged 
eighteen years; Lucien B. , of whom we write; 
Cynthia A., widow of Israel D. Clark, who 
resides in Northampton ; Ermina L. , who died 
in infancy; Henry F. , deceased, who was in 
business with his brother Lucien for some 
years, and at the time of his death was Presi- 
dent of the First National Bank of Northamp- 
ton ; and Charles Edgar, a resident of 
Northampton. The father was very prominent 
in the administration of local public affairs, 
and one of the influential members of the 
Democratic party. Though averse to office- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



463 



seeking or office-holding, he served as Magis- 
trate for man\' years, being recognized as an 
authority on legal questions, and was a wise 
and friendly counsellor to his neighbors, who 
had great faith in his integrity and good judg- 
ment. He was also the pension agent for 
the Berkshire County Revolutionary soldiers, 
about forty in number, who used to meet at 
his store twice a year, March 4 and September 
4, to receive their hard-earned bounty and 
rehearse the thrilling stories of their army 
experiences. 

Lucien B. Williams completed his school 
life at the Wilbraham Academy, and, when a 
youth of seventeen years, became a salesman 
in his father's store. He was quick to learn, 
paying close attention to his duties, in time 
becoming a partner in the business, and at the 
death of his father succeeding to its ownership. 
Mr. Williams began the manufacture of 
baskets in Huntington, buying out the plant 
of an established firm and continuing there 
until 1862. In that year he came to North- 
ampton, where he increased his business to 
large proportions. He manufactured baskets 
of splint and rattan, of all sizes, including 
cl 1 'tho baskets, peach baskets, and market 
baskets, the mill capacity being very large. 
turning out in good times as many as ten thou- 
sand baskets per day. The factory is a large 
building, two hundred by forty feet, with an 
L one hundred by thirty feet, and an engine- 
room in which is manufactured the steam that 
propels the machinery. Besides this the plant 
includes four storehouses, each two hundred 
by fifty feet ; and employment is furnished in 
prosperous times to two hundred hands. 

Here Mr. Williams was as successful as in 
his mercantile business in Huntington, which 
he closed Out in 1861, just prior to his re- 
moval to Northampton. This manufactory is 
now governed by an incorporated company, 



which was organized some twenty-five years 
ago. Mr. Williams was the first President; 
his son, Vice-President; Frank E. Clark, his 
sister's son, Treasurer; and Robert C. Will- 
iams, a nephew, Secretary. Mr. Williams's 
exacting business interests necessarily absorbed 
much of his attention ; but he was always 
identified with all philanthropic measures look- 
ing to the material and moral betterment of 
his town, count}'. State, and country. He was 
an ardent, working patriot in the Civil War, 
having up to the opening of that war been a 
Democrat in political convictions, but there- 
after was a Republican in sentiment and ser- 
vice. Mr. Williams was a Director in the 
Northampton Rank for many years, including 
the time oi the famous robbery, and was promi- 
nently useful in aiding the adjustment of the 
serious difficulties which followed that calam- 
ity. A few years ago his failing health com- 
pelled him to resign the responsible trust, his 
son Harry being selected as his successor. 
Mr. Williams was also Treasurer of the Flor- 
ence Machine Company in its prosperous days, 
and was fur many years a prominent Director 
of the Northampton Emery Wheel Company, 
whose treasurer, the late General Otis, was 
one of his very warm friends. 

On September 1, 1847, Mr. Williams was 
united in marriage with Harriet Copeland, of 
Huntington, a daughter of Melvin and Lu- 
cinda (Blake) Copeland. Mrs. Williams's 
parents died in the spring of 1866, her father 
in March and her mother in April. Mr. 
Copeland was a native of Sturbridge, Mass., 
but moved from there to Hartford, Conn., 
where he was married, and there engaged in 
the manufacture of carpenter's tools. I 
he moved to Huntington and carried on the 
same business until his decease. Mrs. Will- 
iams was bom and reared in Hartford, finish- 
ing her education in the Hartford Seminar), 



464 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a noted institution of learning. The union of 
Mr. and Mrs. Williams was blessed by the 
birth of four children, three of whom have 
passed to the higher life: Mary, who died in 
infancy; Frederick at the age of five years; 
and Helen at the age of seventeen years. 
Henry L. , the only child living, was grad- 
uated from Yale College in the class of 1882. 
He married Isabella Dewey, a daughter of 
Edward Dewey, of Boston, Mass. 

The Williams residence, a spacious man- 
sion standing on a beautiful lawn and shaded 
by towering elms with graceful branches, is 
one of the most charming places in this vicin- 
ity. This property, containing about five 
acres of land, Mr. Williams purchased in 
1867; and the house, which was built seventy- 
five years ago and is three stories high and 
sixty feet square, has been entirely remod- 
elled. It is furnished in a cosey, homelike, 
tasteful way, and pervaded with an air of com- 
fort, the handsome library with its three thou- 
sand volumes being especially attractive. 

We take pleasure in quoting from an ap- 
preciative tribute to the memory of Mr. Will- 
iams, elsewhere in print, evidently from the 
pen of one who knew him well: — 

"He was an example of the gentleman in 
business, and has been a power in directing 
business affairs in the Meadow City even out- 
side of those concerns with which he was 
directly engaged. He had a wonderful mag- 
netism, which asserted itself in various ways, 
not only in his affairs of business: but in his 
social and home life. He was a man of large 
heart, philanthropic and at the same time thor- 
oughly democratic; and these qualities, to- 
gether with a genial disposition, made him a 
host of loyal and loving friends and acquaint- 
ances. He was the same to rich and poor 
alike, and this accounts in large measure for 
the influence he had with his employees and 



for the devotion the workingmen had for him. 
He was ever their friend and sympathizer." 



bTRANCIS S. STEBBINS was a life- 
P > s long resident of Granby, the date of his 
birth being August 22, 181 2, and that 
of his death June 6, 1882. As the descendant 
of early settlers and a citizen whose memory is 
held in respect, he is deserving of honorable 
mention in this biographical volume. His 
father, John Stebbins, was born in this town, 
December 22, 1763, and from earliest man- 
hood was identified with. the agricultural inter- 
ests of this section of Hampshire County, 
being one of its successful practical farmers. 
He died January 15, 1847. He was thrice 
married, his first wife being Susannah 
Warner, of Amherst, born October 16, 1772. 
Of this union six children were born: Ruth, 
Josephus, Aaron W. , John A., Cyrus, and 
Susannah. His second wife was Jerusha 
Clark, of Amherst, born May 12, 1772. She 
bore him five children: Philena, Josephus, 
Lucius, Francis, and Simeon, all of whom, 
with the exception of Lucius, have passed to 
the life immortal. His last wife, sister of the 
second, was born in Amherst, December 13, 
1767, and died June 30, 1855. 

Francis S. Stebbins attended the district 
schools in his younger days, and when old 
enough to learn a trade selected that of a shoe- 
maker, working at it industriously and until 
1846, when failing health compelled him to 
seek some other occupation. Having been 
reared on a farm, and therefore familiar with 
its labors, he then turned his attention to agri- 
culture in Granby, and in this pursuit also was 
prosperous, realizing both health and cash. 
He made excellent improvements on his farm, 
placing the fertile land in a good state of cul- 
tivation, and carrying on general fanning with 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



465 



satisfactory results, year by year adding to 
his possessions. Mr. Stebbins held a secure 
position in the esteem and respect of his 
neighbors, and, being public-spirited and of 
wise judgment, was prominent in local affairs, 
and served with acceptance in various offices of 
trust, as that of Surveyor and also of Assessor. 
He was domestic in his tastes, enjoying the 
quiet of his fireside, and was a kind husband, 
an obliging neighbor, and a most worthy and 
valued citizen. 

On March 2, 1843, Mr. Stebbins was united 
in marriage with Miss Acelia R. Dickinson, 
who was born January 7, 1820, in Granby, 
where she has spent her entire years. Her 
parents, Abner M. Dickinson, burn December, 
1790, and Ruth Warner Dickinson, born Au- 
gust 26, 1794, were well-known members of 
the farming community of this locality, where 
they reared their five children: Lucilla F., 
Acelia R. (Mrs. Stebbins), Sophronia, Orpha 
C, and Clarissa. 




,K\". RICHARD LaRUE SWAIN, 
Ph.D., pastor of the Congregational 
church in South Hadley Falls, was 
born in Jefferson County, Iowa, June 17, 
i860. He is the son of the Rev. Richard and 
Sarah Elizabeth (Carr) Swain, who are now 
living retired in Promise City, la. His par- 
ents are natives of Leicestershire, England, 
and came to America in 1857. His father 
was taught the Catholic faith, but when 
twenty years of age joined the Wesleyan 
Methodist church, and became a licensed min- 
ister of that denomination, preaching for them 
until he came to this country. 

In Jefferson County, Iowa, where he first 
located, he did not find the Wesleyan church, 
hence joined the United Brethren in Christ, 
and has since remained a minister of that 



communion. After five years he removed to 
Wayne County, where he purchased a farm 
near Promise City. For a number of years 
he combined preaching anil agricultural pur- 
suits; but finally he gave his time wholly to 
the ministry, his last pastorate being at Lis- 
bon, la. 

Mr. Swain has four sisters. His oldest 
sister, Mary, who was born in England, now 
lives in Washington. His sisters Sarah, 
Clara, and Lauretta live near their old home 
in Wayne County. His brother John was 
killed by lightning when twenty-one years of 
age. 

Richard L. completed his classical course 
in Western College, Iowa, took his divinity 
course in Union Biblical Seminary, Ohio, and 
pursued a course in philosophy at Yale and 
Otterbein. He also gave much attention to 
the study of music, and almost entirely de- 
frayed the expenses of his education by teach- 
ing music. He was given license to preach 
when seventeen years of age; and, while he 
did not yet take a church, he preached fre- 
quently during his various courses of study. 
His first regular pastorate was in Otterbein 
University, Westerville, Ohio, where he was 
college pastor and Lecturer on Evidences of 
Christianity for five and a half years. He was 
also one of the Trustees of the United Society 
of Christian Endeavor for about four years, 
which position he resigned on leaving Ohio 
for Massachusetts. He accepted a call to his 
present church in December, 1893, and was 
here installed on March 13, 1894. The 
church in South Hadley Falls is in a flourish- 
ing condition, with a membership of nearly 
three hundred and about the same number of 
families who look to this church for pastoral 
care. 

While in college Mr. Swain was married to 
Miss Anna E. Shuey, who was a professor in 



4 66 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 






the college at that time. Her parents were 
William and Catherine (Baker) Shuey. Her 
father was a Captain in the late war, and after 
the war edited a paper in his college town. 
He died in 1X76, from injuries received dur- 
ing the war. Mrs. Swain's mother now re- 
sides with her youngest daughter in Iowa. 
Mr. and Mrs. Swain have four children : Rich- 
ard S. , Philip W., Esther Helen, and Stuart 
Frederick. 

YJ2)T(JRATIO BISBEE, an extensive real 
r^| estate owner in Chesterfield, where 
Ji 9 y _, he is actively engaged in farming, 
lumbering, and manufacturing, was born in 
this town, November 20, 1833, son of Orin and 
Wealthy (Damon) Bisbee, both natives of 
Chesterfield. Mr. Bisbee is of English de- 
scent. Some of his ancestors settled in Plym- 
outh Colony less than twenty years after the 
landing of the Pilgrims. The names of John 
Bisbee and his son Gideon appear on the old 
records of Marshfield, Mass. Gideon Bisbee 
came to Chesterfield in 1755 and spent one 
summer, returning in the fall for his family 
and coming here the following spring just in 
time to engage in the French and Indian War. 
He died soon after with the small-pox. His 
widow, two sons, and two daughters then came 
to Chesterfield. Jotham Bisbee, son of Gid- 
eon, married Lydia, the daughter of Luther 
Curtis; and their son Elisha, who was one of 
a family of ten children, was the grandfather 
of Horatio Bisbee. 

Orin Bisbee, son of Elisha, settled on a 
farm in the neighborhood of his son Horatio's 
present residence, and during his lifetime cul- 
tivated the soil for family needs, at the same 
time pursuing other occupations, working as a 
carpenter and joiner, later at wagon-making, 
and finally engaging in lumbering. He died 
July 24, 1887, at the age of eighty. His 



wife, who is now eighty-five years old, is liv- 
ing at the homestead. They were the parents 
of the following children : Wealthy, wife of 
Chandler Macomber, of Chesterfield; Horatio; 
Mary, who died at the age of twenty-three; 
Lydia, wife of Joseph Macomber, one of the 
Selectmen of Chesterfield; Jane Z. , widow of 
Cornelius Van SI ike, who resides in Florence, 
Mass.; a child who died in infancy; and 
Almarin O., who married Martha Tilden and 
lives near his brother Horatio. 

Horatio Bisbee received a good common- 
school education. When he was twenty-five 
years of age he purchased for a home the estate 
where he now lives, and has since been exten- 
sively engaged in general farming and stock- 
raising. He is sole proprietor of a grist-mill 
and a saw-mill, known throughout the county 
as Bisbee's Mills, which have been in pos- 
session of the family seventy-five years, and 
has the grain trade of the town, with customers 
also in Williamsburg and a large lumber busi- 
ness. He also has near his farm a whip- 
butt factory, which has a large output, many 
of the goods finding market in Westfield. 
Mr. Bisbee's real estate in all comprises about 
seven hundred and fifty acres. He is a man of 
rare business ability, and is acknowledged as 
such throughout the county. He has been 
Vice-President of the Hillside Agricultural 
Society ever since it was started, except two 
years, and is a Director in the Williamsburg 
Creamery Association. 

On October 14, 1858, Mr. Bisbee was 
united in marriage with Louisa L. , daughter 
of Lyman Rice, of Chesterfield, who was born 
July 6, 1837; and the following children were 
the fruit of their union : Mary L. , who is with 
her parents; Willard Lyman, who died in 
early childhood ; Charles Allen, who has 
charge of the grain business in Williamsburg, 
established by his father; and Homer Rice, 



m Ste^ 



*> 





HORATIO BISBRR. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



A ( >0 



who is with his parents. Mr. Bisbee has 
given ti> all his children the advantages of a 
gond education. 

In politics Mr. Bisbee is a Republican. He 
is a prominent man in the town, where he has 
served as Selectman two years ; and he is a 
Trustee of the Haydenville Savings Bank. He 
and his household attend the Congregational 
church in Chesterfield and take an active inter- 
est in church work. Mr. Bisbee is a member 
of an old and respected New England family, 
whose prestige he maintains in a creditable 
manner, having attained his present state of 
prosperity through his own enterprising indus- 
try. His portrait here given shows a man not 
afraid of hard work and one not accustomed to 
squander time, which, as Franklin says, is the 
stuff that life is made uf. 



(^fOIIX C. AVERY, a well-known farmer 
of Huntington, in the south-west part of 
Hampshire County, and a veteran of 
the Civil War, was bom in Westfield, Mass., 
August ii, 1843, son of John and Lydia 
Avery. Mr. Avery's father was horn in 
Westfield, where he followed the occupation of 
a mechanic, and was also engaged in agricult- 
ure. He died in 1853. His wife, who was a 
native of Westfield, became the mother of five 
children, as follows: Dolly, who married Guy 
1). Green, an artist of Springfield, Mass.; 
Eliza, who married for her first husband 
Charles Chapin, and for her second, George 
Haven, and died in 18S2; Lucinda, who mar- 
ried for her first husband Morgan King, and, 
for her second, John Hebron, and died in 
1892; Isaac, who married Ellen Clark, and 
was accidentally killed at Norwich, Mass., in 
1 891 ; and John C, the subject of this sketch. 
The mother died in 1894. aged eighty-four 
years. 



John C. Avery was reared to an agricultural 
life, and commenced to work for his own sup- 
port at a very early age. He was then em- 
ployed as a farm laborer until 1862, when he 
enlisted as a private in Company D, Thirty- 
fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, went 
to the front, and served through the most im- 
portant period of the Civil War. He partici- 
pated in the battles of Winchester, Cedar 
Creek, Hatch's Run, Piedmont, Lynchburg, 
Petersburg, Fisher's Hill, and was present at 
Lee's surrender. He was wounded in the left 
foot at the battle of Piedmont, January 5, 
1864, and was confined to the hospital for 
four weeks. .After his discharge from the 
service Mr. Avery returned to Westfield, and 
later went to New York, where he resided four 
years. In 1S70 he came to Huntington, and 
engaged in buying and selling horses, and also 
in carrying on a farm. He raises some ex- 
cellent cattle and poultry, and conducts a 
prosperous business in shipping his products 
to New York City. Mr. Avery is Republi- 
can in politics. He was a Selectman for three 
years, and is now serving as Constable. He 
is a comrade of Post No. 176, Grand Arm}' of 
the Republic. 

On January 21, 1874, Mr. Avery was united 
in marriage with Lucy Maria Porter, who was 
born in Huntington, June 23, 1849. Her par- 
ents were Seth and Maria Porter, her father 
having been a prosperous farmer and tanner. 
Mr. Avery and his wife have three children: 
( igden Porter, Byron Lyman, and Jay Morton. 
Mr. and Mrs. Avery are members of the Con- 
gregational church. 



ENRY W. HILL, Town Clerk and 
Treasurer of Williamsburg, Mass., 
was born in this town, June 16, 
1844, son of (His ami Philena (Packard) Hill. 




47° 



BIOGRAPHIC AT, REVIKW 



Mr. Hill is a descendant of Samson Hill, who 
came from Hatfield to Williamsburg in 1775, 
and, clearing a good farm, resided thereon until 
his death, which occurred at the age of eighty 
years. Mr. Hill's grandfather, Ephraim Hill, 
succeeded to the ownership and occupation of 
the farm, and devoted his energies to its culti- 
vation and improvement. He died in 1851, 
aged eighty years. His children were : Hiram, 
Russell, Calvin, Otis, Wealthy, Sarah, Cyn- 
thia, and Electa. 

Otis Hill, the fourth son of Ephraim, as 
named above, was born in Williamsburg, April 
1, 1808. After completing his studies in the 
district schools he taught school for several 
terms, and then in company with his brother 
Hiram engaged in the manufacturing of broom 
handles, wooden boxes, and buttons at the old 
mills, which were located just above the vil- 
lage. He later bought his brother's interest, 
and continued in business until failing health 
caused him to relinquish the enterprise, when 
he retired to the old homestead, where he 
passed the remainder of his life in agricultural 
pursuits. Otis Hill was prominently identified 
with public affairs for many years. He fol- 
lowed the majority of the old Whig element 
into the ranks of the Republican party at its 
formation, and served as a Selectman for sev- 
eral years, was Town Clerk and Treasurer for 
twenty years, and in 1857 was a member of the 
House of Representatives. He died December 
27, 1883. His wife, Philena Packard, became 
the mother of the following children : Lemira 
A., Melvin W., Hiram G., Henry W. , and 
John W. Mrs. Philena P. Hill died in 1865, 
at the age of fifty-three years. 

Henry W. Hill was educated in the schools 
of Williamsburg, and then entered mercantile 
business as a clerk for D. W. Lovell, in Cum- 
mington, Mass., where he remained a few 
months. In (870 he engaged in running an 



express from Williamsburg to Northampton, 
and three years later bought an interest in the 
button manufactory established by his brother, 
Hiram G. Hill. When the Co-operative 
Creamery was started, Mr. Hill was elected 
clerk and treasurer of that enterprise, a posi- 
tion which he still holds. He is a Republican 
in politics, and was School Committee for six 
years. He was elected Town Clerk and Treas- 
urer in 1894, and is President of the Williams- 
burg Library Association. 

On October 28, 1868, Mr. Hill was married 
to Mary S. Morton, daughter of Nehemiah M. 
and Asenath S. (Miller) Morton. Mr. Mor- 
ton, who was a prosperous farmer of Williams- 
burg, died July 8, 1878. His widow is still 
living, and makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. 
Hill. Of the two children born to Mr. Hill 
and his wife, the only son, named Harry, died 
in infancy. The daughter, Myra A., is now 
a student at Mount Holyoke College. The 
family attend the Congregational church, of 
which Mr. Hill is a Deacon, and has been for 
thirty years organist. Mr. Hill also owns 
real estate in the village, besides his very 
pleasant residence. 




EV. JAMES BOYLE, rector of All 
Saints' Catholic Church at Ware, 

s y ^ Hampshire County, Mass., is a na- 
tive of Birkenhead, England, where he was 
born August 15, 1845. 

His father, Nicholas Boyle, was a native of 
Ireland. He learned the trade of a stone 
mason, which he followed with success 
throughout his life. In 1848, accompanied 
by his wife and three children, he came to the 
United States, and settled at Dobbs Ferry, 
in Westchester County, New York, where he 
became a contractor. He was killed in a rail- 
road accident when but thirty-seven years of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



47' 



age, leaving his widow and five children, of 
whom those now living are: James; Mar- 
garet, of Washington, D.C., the widow of 
Samuel Watkins, a non-commissioned officer 
in the United States Navy, who died in 
middle life, leaving one son; and Lawrence 
Boyle, of New City, N.Y. Mrs. Boyle, whose 
maiden name was Mary Bray, and who was 
born in Dublin, Ireland, afterward married 
John Aungier, and had five children by this 
union. She died in 187S, at the age of 
fifty two years. 

James Boyle acquired his early education in 
the public schools, in 1870 entered the col- 
lege at Allegany, N.Y., and later on attended 
the St. Theresa College in Canada. He 
obtained his theological education at the 
Grand Seminary of Saint Sulpice in Mon- 
treal, where he was ordained on the 1 8th of 
December, 1875. His first appointment was 
at Uxbridge, Mass., where he remained for 
two and a half years. From there he went 
to Springfield, and served as curate for three 
years, at the expiration of which time he 
was appointed rector of a parish in Grafton, 
Mass., remaining there from 1881 to 1887. 
On February 8, 1887, he was appointed to the 
parish at Ware. The society was then wor- 
shipping in an old church adjoining the Cath- 
olic cemetery on the Palmer road; but in the 
following year work was begun on the present 
fine large brick edifice, known as All Saints' 
Catholic Church, which was completed in 
November, 1894, at a cost of about one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. Father Boyle now has 
under his charge about two thousand souls, 
and the church is in a prosperous condition. 

Although only in his sixteenth year when 
the patriotism of the North was aroused by the 
siege and fall of Fort Sumter in April, 1861, 
James Boyle was among those who rendered 
efficient service during the great civil strife 



that followed, having entered the army as a 
volunteer in May, 1861, from New York 
City. He enlisted in Company C of the 
Thirty-seventh New York Regiment, and 
served as private, Corporal, and Sergeant 
until November, 1862, at which time he was 
promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. 
At the battle of Williamsburg, Ya., May 5, 
1862, he was wounded by a gunshot which 
passed through his left wrist; and, after 
being in the hospital at Baltimore a short 
time, he returned home on a furlough, but 
within six weeks was with his company again. 
He was with his regiment in the second battle 
of Bull Run, in the battles of Chantilly, 
Fredericksburg, and Chancel lorsvi lie, and was 
mustered nut of service with his regiment on 
the 2 2d of June, 1863, the regimental term of 
service having expired several days previous 
to that date. 

In political views Father Boyle is a Repub- 
lican, and has served on various town com- 
mittees, among others the building committee 
of the new high school. He is also an active 
temperance worker, and has won the esteem 
and respect of many besides his parishioners. 
He is a member of the Third Army Corps 
Union, the Society of the Army of the Poto- 
mac, and also of the Military Order of the 
Loyal Legion. 




ILLIAM I). BILLINGS, Town 
Clerk of Hatfield, was born in this 
town, August 5, (832, son of John 
A. and Clarissa (Dickinson) Billings. The 
Billings family have resided in Hatfield for 
more than two hundred years, having been 
large land-owners and extensive farmers, and 
figuring prominently in the development of the 
town's prosperity. They are descendants of 
Richard and Margery Billings, who emigrated 



17- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



from England, were residents of Hartford, 
Conn., in 1640, and settled in Hatfield in 
1661. The original farm which Richard Bill- 
ings improved is now owned and occupied by 
Mrs. J. D. Billings, her husband being a di- 
rect descendant of Richard. 

Richard Billings died in 1679, leaving one- 
son, Samuel, who was born in Connecticut and 
died in Hatfield. He married Sarah Fellows, 
and his children were: Samuel; Ebenezer; 
Richard; John, who was liked by the Indians; 
and Sarah. Samuel Billings, second, was born 
in Hatfield, and succeeded to the possession of 
the homestead. He married Hannah Wright, 
and was the father of Sarah, Joseph, Zechariah, 
and Benjamin. Zechariah Billings followed 
agricultural pursuits in Hatfield, and died in 
1 77 1 . He married Ruth Meekins; and they 
were the parents of David, Sybil, Lydia, and 
Silas. 

Captain Silas Billings, great-grandfather of 
William D., was born in Hatfield, November 
3, 1 741. He bought a farm lying directly op- 
posite to the old homestead and became a pros- 
perous farmer. He died in Hatfield, June 6, 
1808. He was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church. He married Miriam Dickin- 
son, who lived to reach the age of ninety years, 
and died in 1836. Their children were; Jo- 
seph, Erastus, Roswell, and Ruth. Colonel 
Erastus Billings, Mr. Billings's grandfather, 
was born June 30, 1778, and died October 27, 
1 ,X }.X. A thrifts- man, the owner of a large es- 
tate, he was influential in public affairs, serv- 
ing with ability in important town offices, and 
was Colonel of a regiment of cavalry. He 
was a Whig in politics and a Congregational ist 
in religion. He married Abigail Allis, who 
was born in 1779; alu ' sne became the mother 
oi tour children: Fanny. Silas, John A., and 
Erastus. Mrs. Abigail Billings died in 1829. 

John A. Billings was born in Hatfield, Feb- 



ruary 22, 1806. In early manhood he went to 
Avon, N. Y., where he purchased a farm, but 
after residing there for four years he sold the 
property anil returned to his native town. lie 
bought the farm which is now owned by S. F. 
Billings, and in 1856 built the present farm 
residence. He was a Republican in politics, 
and became prominently identified with public 
affairs, serving as a Selectman and Assessor. 
John A. Billings died May 27, 1886. His 
wife, Clarissa Dickinson, was born April 1, 
1805. They had four children, two of whom 
grew to maturity, namely: Frances, bom July 
12, 1830, who died December 12, 1882; and 
William D., the subject of this sketch. 
Louisa, born September 4, 1840, died August 
22, 1843; and Willard W., born August 22, 
1845, died September 28, 1845. The mother 
died February 28, 1872. 

William D. Billings commenced his educa- 
tion at Williston Seminary, and completed his 
studies at the Monson Academy. He engaged 
in agricultural pursuits until i860, when he 
formed a partnership with H. P. Billings, with 
whom he conducted a general mercantile busi- 
ness in Hatfield for five years, at the expira- 
tion of which period he retired from trade. 
Resuming farming at the old homestead, which 
fell to his possession, Mr. Billings resided 
there until 1886, when he sold the property. 
Mr. Billings is a Republican in politics, and 
has always actively supported that party. He 
has served as an .Assessor twenty-three years, 
since 1S63; and in 1858 he was elected Town 
Clerk, a position which he has since filled with 
marked ability and efficiency. He has re- 
copied with utmost care the town records, 
which date from the original settlement in 
1660, and has placed them in perfect order for 
reference, a work whose importance and value 
it would be difficult to overestimate. 

On October 14, 1863, Mr. Billings was 



,-■ L 



m 




FLAVEL GAYLORD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



475 



united in marriage with Mary L. Warner, a 
native of Hatfield. She was born on Novem- 
ber 26, 1838, daughter of James W. and 
Louisa B. (Longley) Warner, the former of 
whom was a prosperous farmer of Hatfield. 
Mr. and Mrs. Billings have been called to part 
with one of their two children, namely: 
Louisa D., who was born March 4, 1868, and 
died January 14, 1874. Her sister. Clarissa 
D., born September 10, 1873, is now the wife 
of Frederick U. Wells, of Springfield, Mass. 



fLAVEL GAYLORD, a well-to-do 
farmer of Amherst, Mass., a man of 
ability and integrity; prominent in pub- 
lic affairs, was born at Windsor Locks, Conn., 
April 27, 1827, son of Eleazer and Hannah 
(Haskell) Gaylord. His first ancestor in this 
country, whose name was William Gaylord, 
came from England to America in 1630. He 
had a grant of land in Dorchester, Mass., in 
1633, and there held the office of Selectman; 
but in 163S he removed to Windsor, Conn., 
where he died in 1673, aged eighty-eight. He 
is said to have served as a member of the Gen- 
eral Court during forty-one semi-annual ses- 
sions. He was a landed proprietor, and was a 
Deacon of the church at Windsor. He had 
four sons and one daughter, his eldest son also 
bearing the name of William. In the second 
volume of Stiles's "History and Genealogies 
of Ancient Windsor," it is stated that Na- 
thaniel Gaylord, son of the second William, 
took his portion of his lather's estate at Pine 
Meadow, now Windsor Locks, of which he- 
was the second settler. Nathaniel's son Na- 
thaniel was the father of Eliakim, who was 
born in 1717, and married Elizabeth Hayden. 
Flavel Gaylord' s grandfather, Eleazer Gay- 
lord, born in 1753, son of Eliakim, was a life- 
long resident of Windsor Locks, where he was 



engaged in farming; but his son and namesake, 
who was born there October 11, 1785, moved 
to Amherst in 1827. 

He settled on the farm where his son Flavel 
now lives, and was an industrious and success- 
ful farmer and a prominent man in the town. 
In politics a stanch Whig, he was also an 
abolitionist. Eleazer Gaylord, the younger, 
served as Selectman of Amherst for some time. 
In the Congregational church he was Deacon 
nearly thirty-five years, and a zealous worker 
for the good of the parish. His death occurred 
in August, 18(13, while he was on a visit in 
New Haven. His wife, Hannah Haskell, was 
born in Connecticut, November 4, 1787, and 
became Mrs. Gaylord in February, 1819. She 
died October 7, 1830, leaving five children, 
Flavel, the youngest, being then only in his 
fourth year. The eldest, Martha, born March 
14, 1 82 1, is the wife of the Rev. Nelson Scott, 
residing in Amherst. Frances Gaylord, born 
March iS, 1822, married George Cutler ; and 
they also reside in Amherst. Eleazer Gay- 
lord, born November 22. 1823, is a farmer in 
Melrose, Wis. Ebenezer, born September 18, 
1825, is a retired grocer in New Haven, Conn. 

Flavel Gaylord was educated in the schools 
of Amherst, finishing his studies at the acad- 
emy. He owns and occupies the old Gaylord 
place and gives his attention to general farm- 
ing and dairying. His farm, which comprised 
one hundred and ten acres when his father took 
possession of it, he has enlarged and improved, 
making it one of the finest in the vicinity. 
The fine old house is one of the landmarks of 
Amherst. It is solidly built and of generous 
proportions, the clapboards being all hand- 
made, the nails forged by hand; and there is 
a fireplace in almost every room. Mr. Gaylord 
is quite an extensive real estate owner, being 
the landlord of several residences in the vil- 
lage. 



47 6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



On June 7, 1855, he was united in marriage 
with Fidelia S. , daughter of Dennis and 
.Amelia (Turner) Howe. Mrs. Gay lord was 
horn in North Brookfield, Mass., August 17, 
[828. Dennis Howe was a miller. He was 
born in Spencer, and died in that town at the 
age of sixty-nine. His widow, Mrs. Amelia 
T. Howe, who is now ninety-five years of age 
and is living with her daughter, Mrs. Gaylord, 
is .1 native of Pelham. Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord 
have one son, Walter F. , who works in the 
paper-mills in Holyoke. Flavel Gaylord votes 
the Republican ticket, and is prominent in 
town affairs. He has been County Commis- 
sioner twelve years continuously, has served as 
Selectman three years, as Assessor for some 
time, and has held other offices. He and his 
wife are members of the Congregational church. 
Mr. Gaylord is the oldest resident in the part 
of the town where he lives. 

A portrait of this well-known and highly es- 
teemed citizen will be seen on a neighboring 
page. 

« < » » » 

(JjYOHN FULLER, an enterprising farmer, 
stock-grower, and cattle dealer, residing 
in the town of Granby, Mass., is a na- 
tive of Hampden County, born November 14, 
1854, at Chicopee Falls. His father, John 
A. Fuller, was born and reared in Spencer, 
Worcester County. He married a Miss 
Carver, of Chicopee, and located in Ludlow, 
Hampden County, where he was engaged for 
some time in farming, also carrying on an ex- 
tensive trade in cattle, going thence to Chico- 
pee Falls, where he was similarly engaged. 
He subsequently spent a short time in Ludlow, 
coming from there to Hampshire County, and 
settling at first near the village of Granby, but 
afterward purchasing the farm now owned and 
occupied by his son, above named. Here he 
continued as a tiller of the soil until his 



death, June 6, 1891. His wife having died in 
1854, leaving but one child, John, he had lived 
a widower for twoscore years. 

John Fuller has spent the larger part of his 
life in Granby, where he acquired his educa- 
tion in the district schools. He began his 
life work by assisting on the farm, in addition 
to which labors he also made much money by 
buying, and selling cattle. On the death of 
his father Mr. Fuller succeeded to the owner- 
ship of the estate, and he has since conducted 
general farming with excellent pecuniary re- 
sults. He also continues dealing in stock, 
and makes a business of butchering cattle and 
selling dressed beef to the markets, a most lu- 
crative industry. In politics Mr. Fuller is a 
firm supporter of the principles promulgated by 
the Republican party, and uniformly casts his 
vote for their nominees. 

Mr. Fuller's first wife, formerly Emily 
Bartlett, to whom he was united June II, 
1877, died on the 27th of the following No- 
vember. On December 25, 1879, he married 
Miss Ella Clark, of South Hadley Falls, 
who died on Christmas Day, 1883, leaving 
him one child, George Albert. On Decem- 
ber 25, 1884, Mr. Fuller was again married, 
Mrs. Charlotte Keith, a native of North- 
ampton, a daughter of Esquire Zebina Squires 
and the widow of the late Henry Keith, be- 
coming his third wife. Of this union six chil- 
dren have been born, namely: Henry Russell, 
born August 29, 1886; John Robert, born in 
1889; Percy Worthington, born in 1891; Roy 
Dowling, born in 1892 ; Charles Milton, born 
in December, 1893; and Raymond Lee, born 
in 1895. 

BENEZER COOLIDGE RICHARD- 
SON, M.D., who was for forty-three 
years a prominent physician in Ware, 
was born at Townsend, Mass., April 25, 1820, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



477 



and died in Ware, January 10, 1886. He was 
the only son of Dr. Samuel Richardson and 
Polly (Kidder) Richardson, the latter a niece 
of the famous Dr. Moses Kidder, of Lowell. 
His only sister, Harriet Richardson Gardner, 
died in Paris, March 4, 1871. Dr. Richard- 
son graduated from Harvard Medical College 
in 1842, and in that year settled in Ware. 
He acquired an extensive practice there and 
in the surrounding towns, and became widely 
known. Dr. Richardson was entirely de- 
voted to his profession. In him were com- 
bined all the qualities of a successful practi- 
tioner. He was highly valued in consulta- 
tion with prominent physicians throughout 
Massachusetts. He was a member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Association. He was 
also connected with the Brookfield Medical 
Club, and was surgeon of the Ware J. W. 
Law-ton Grand Army Post. At the time of 
the Civil War Dr. Richardson accepted a 
government appointment as surgeon of the 
Hoard of Enrolment for the Ninth District 
of Massachusetts, being stationed at Green- 
held. Returning to Ware after a little more 
than two vears' service, he resumed his prac- 
tice, and in the succeeding year was ap- 
pointed the district examining surgeon for 
government pensions. Dr. Richardson was 
an accomplished musician, being more than 
ordinarily skilful on the violin. His sensi- 
tive musical temperament enabled him to 
enter deeply into the feelings of others. He 
was always good to the poor and distressed, in 
many instances refusing pay for his services. 
He was a member of the Last Congregational 
Church of Ware for thirty years. 

Shortly after coming to Ware, Dr. Richard- 
son married Clara Reed Hartwell, the only 
daughter of Captain Joseph Hartwell, of Ware. 
Capt. Hartwell had served in nearly all the 
more important offices in the gift of the town, 



and had represented the district in the legis- 
lature of 1863. His wife was before mar- 
riage Clarissa Reed, whose home was the 
famous old Reed castle, in Bolton, Mass. 
Mrs. Clara (Hartwell) Richardson was born 
April 15, 1830, at Ware. She received her 
education in the schools of Ware and the 
Relchertown Academy, then conducted by Mr. 
J. F. Pearl. She also passed her examinations 
for Mount Holyoke Seminar}'. She studied 
vocal and instrumental music in Boston, and 
was an accomplished musician. A prominent 
feature of former times were the musical 
festivals given in Ware, Brookfield, and neigh- 
boring towns. In these Dr. and Mrs. Rich- 
ardson took active part as soloists. Mrs. 
Richardson was a woman of great strength of 
character, yet she had a manner that charmed 
young and old alike. Love was the key-note 
of her life — love to God and man. She ever 
exercised a broad charity ; and, with her far- 
sighted judgment and gentle words and deeds 
of kindness, she will long live in the hearts of 
her many friends, a beautiful and blessed mem- 
ory. She died August 17, 1895. Five chil- 
dren survive her: Mari Anita, wife of Marshall 
Otis West, a successful manufacturer of Port 
Chester, X. V. ; Carrie Virginia, wife of 
Edwin Howard Baker, who is connected with 
the firm of Wright, Bliss & Fabyan, of New 
York; Harriet Gardner, wife of Osborne 
Mowry Billings, of St. Louis, Mo. ; Martha 
Reed, wife of Dr. William Oliver Barrett, a 
well-known dentist of Ware; and Charlotte 
Houghton Richardson, of Ware, Mass. 



(SHAMES FORSYTH, a highly respected 
citizen of Williamsburg and a veteran 
of the Civil War, was born in Ches- 
ter County, England, August 4, 1S2S, son 
of Andrew and Anna (Hackett) Forsyth. 



47 s 



RTOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Forsyth's father was a native of Paisley, 
Scotland. He learned the trade of a silk 
weaver in Chester County, England, and fol- 
lowed that occupation through life. In i S57 
he came to live with his son James in the 
United States, but in 1858 returned to Eng- 
land on a visit, and died there, aged seventy- 
five. Andrew Forsyth was the father of thir- 
teen children, three of whom died young, and 
ten reached maturity; namely, John, James, 
William, Andrew, Thomas, Joseph, Mary, 
Hattie, Eliza, and Martha. Their mother 
died in this country in 1 S 7 3 . 

At an early age James Forsyth entered the 
silk-mills in England, where he acquired the 
trade of a silk weaver, and became an expert 
workman. When he was twenty years old, 
he came to the United States, and obtained 
his first employment in this country at 
Lyman's wagon factory in Manchester, Conn., 
where he worked one winter. He then se- 
cured a position as overseer and inspector in 
Thompsonville, Conn., from which place he 
came to Williamsburg, Mass., and was em- 
ployed in the button factory of Thayer 
Brothers for one year, going thence to North- 
ampton for the purpose of learning the trade 
of a wood turner. The skill acquired in this 
useful craft he was not long, it may be be- 
lieved, in turning to good account. After 
spending a year in manufacturing bedsteads 
in Chester, Mass., he returned to Williams- 
burg, where he was engaged for five years in 
Thayer's cabinet shops, and then went to 
Hadley to work for J. Adams in turning hubs. 
In 1S62 he enlisted as a private in Company 
H, Fifty-second Regiment Massachusetts Vol- 
unteers, for nine months' service in the Civil 
War, and faithfully discharged his duties in 
the ranks until overcome by illness at Baton 
Rouge, from which place he was sent to the 
Marine Hospital in New Orleans. After hav- 



ing served eleven months, he received his dis- 
charge from the army, and, recovering his 
health, returned to the employ of W. E. 
Thayer in Williamsburg, where he has since 
remained, being one of the most skilful work- 
men in his trade. He purchased a house in 
tlie village, but later sold that property, and 
moved to the vicinity of Skinnersville, and 
while residing there had the misfortune to 
lose his entire possessions in the flood of 
1874, his family barely escaping with their 
lives. Being a man of energy and persever- 
ance, he recovered from his losses, and now 
owns one of the most pleasant residences in 
the village. 

On March 18, 1854, Mr. Forsyth was mar- 
ried to Margaret A. Stewart, who was born 
in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Alexander 
Stewart, who was a prosperous farmer, of 
Scotch ancestry, is now dead. Mr. and Mrs. 
Forsyth have had four children, as follows: 
Anna, who married W. W. Nash, a farmer of 
Williamsburg, and has three children — 
Grace, Gertrude, and Ethel; Ellen I., who 
married W. E. Smith, a progressive farmer of 
North Chester, and has one daughter — 
Mabel; James A., who married Florence J. 
Merriam, and died at the age of twenty-five, 
having one son — Richard J.; and William 
A., a twin brother to James A., who married 
Margaret Joice, and resides in Paterson, N.J., 
having four children. Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. Mr. Forsyth is a Republican in 
politics and a comrade of Post 86, Grand 
Army of the Republic. 



.-»..-» 



^£ 



LLS BRAINARD, a successful 
inner of South Hadley Falls, son 
of Robert and Mercy (Snow) Brain- 
ard, was born June 19, 1839, upon the farm 




JOSEPH H. SHEARN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



$1 



he now owns and occupies. Mr. Brainard's 
grandfather, Robert Brainard, Sr. , a native 
of Haddam, Conn., moved to South Hadley 
Falls in 1805, and was the first Methodist to 
settle in the town. He purchased a farm, 
which he improved, and resided thereon until 
his death. 

Robert Brainard, the younger, succeeded to 
the possession of the property and conducted it 
successfully until his death, which occurred 
February 2, 1S71. He was a prominent citi- 
zen and for many years held the office of Se- 
lectman and Overseer of the Poor. His wife, 
Mercy Snow- Brainard, who was born in South 
Hadley Falls, became the mother of five chil- 
dren, as follows: Olive, who married Edward 
Lester, of South Hadley Falls, and now resides 
at South Hadley; Mercy Ann, who married 
Edward Judd, and died at the age of thirty- 
nine; Wells, the subject of this sketch; Will- 
iam, who died in infancy; and Julia, who 
married Theodore P. Palmer, of Miller's Falls, 
Mass. The mother died June 4, 1894, at the 
age of ninety-five. 

Wells Brainard was reared to an agricultural 
life, obtaining his education in the public 
schools near his home. Later on in his youth 
he was sent to Wilbraham School, where he 
completed a business course, returning at the 
age of twenty-one to work on the farm. After 
the death of his father he took charge of the 
farm, and by dint of hard labor has brought it 
up to its present standard. Pleasantly situ- 
ated, with a broad and picturesque view, for a 
country home Mr. Brainard's place is unsur- 
passed. Mr. Brainard married Adaline Wil- 
son, of Belchertown, Mass., and the}' have had 
six children, three of whom are living; 
namely, Harry E., Gertrude Evelyn, and Win- 
nie May. Lilla A. died at the age of seven 
years; William Erwin died at the age of four- 
teen; and Robert C, aged ten months. 



OSEPH H. SHEARN, general superin- 
tendent of the three mills belonging to 
the Nonotuck Silk Company at Leeds, 
Mass., is a native of Somersetshire, England. 
He was born in 1847. His grandfather, Sam- 
uel Shearn, was a lifelong resident of Somer- 
setshire, being one of the English yeomanry 
and the owner of an estate which has been in 
the family many generations. He reared nine 
children, six sons ami three daughters, the 
most of whom have remained in their native 
land. 

Austin Shearn, one of the six sons of Sam- 
uel, was born in Somersetshire in 1820. He 
married Sarah Cottrell, and in 1854 came with 
his family to America, embarking on the fa- 
mous ship "Constellation," which brought one 
thousand passengers, being but six weeks on 
her voyage. Locating in New Jersey he re- 
sumed merchandising, in which he had for- 
merly been engaged on the Channel Islands ; 
but he subsequently lived a few years in Leeds, 
coming here in I 861, and being employed as a 
commercial traveller, running his own team 
and dealing in tea and coffee. He finally 
bought a farm in Easthampton, where he spent 
the last decade of his years, but died in Hay- 
denville in 1892. Six children were born to 
him and his wife, namely: Charlotte, who mar- 
I ried Charles Scrivener, of Jersey City, N.J., 
and died at the age of thirty-five years, leaving 
five children ; Louisa, the wife of Martin 
Flagg, of Northampton ; Frances, wife of 
Samuel Ewing, who is her second husband, 
her first husband having been Stanley Howard; 
Joseph IT, the subject of this biography; 
Frederick S. , an instructor in music at North- 
ampton; and Charles, an employee of the Beld- 
ing Silk Company at Northampton. 

Joseph II. Shearn was educated in the pub- 
lic schools in New Jersey and at Leeds, begin- 
ning at the age of twelve years, when not in 



4S2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



school, to work in the mill in which he is 
now employed. He was earnest and faithful 
wherever placed, and was gradually promoted 
through the different departments of the mills 
until reaching his present responsible position, 
which he has held for a score of years, his long 
tenure of office being strong evidence of the 
value placed upon his services. This plant, 
in which Mr. Shearn is one of the stock- 
holders, is one of the finest in its construction 
and equipments of any in the State, and gives 
steady employment to about one thousand 
hands. 

On May 26, 1869, Mr. Shearn was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary Kearney, of Leeds, 
a daughter of the late Robert J. Kearney, who 
was a native of Ireland and a graduate of the 
Dublin University- Their pleasant wedded 
pathway has been brightened by the birth of 
two children, Clarence J. and Edith G. Clar- 
ence is a graduate of the New York Law 
School, and now a promising young lawyer of 
New York City, being the managing attorney 
with Einstein & Townsend. A brilliant stu- 
dent from his early years, he was graduated 
from the Northampton High School when but 
sixteen years of age and from Cornell Univer- 
sity in the class of 1890 with high honors. 
Edith, having early manifested artistic taste 
and ability, pursued the study of art at Smith 
College for a while, and later at the Art Stu- 
dents' League in New York City. She is now 
cultivating her talent in Paris, having gone 
abroad for that purpose the second time. Her 
attention, however, is not wholly devoted to 
the use of the pencil and brush, Miss Shearn 
also taking pleasure in music and playing both 
the guitar and the piano. 

As a citizen Mr. Shearn is held in great es- 
teem, his judgment in local affairs being every- 
where respected. He is a stanch member of 
the Republican party, ever ready to forward its 



interests, and has served as Alderman two 
years and as a member of the Common Council 
one year. He is a Master Mason, a member 
of Jerusalem Lodge of Northampton. Relig- 
iously, he and his wife are liberal, and attend 
the meetings of the Cosmian Hall Society of 
Florence. 

The accompanying portrait of Mr. Shearn 
will be recognized at a glance by his friends 
and acquaintances. 



AMES A. BYRNS, a successful and en- 
terprising baker of Ware, was born 
in Framingham, Mass., September 8, 
1849. He acquired his education in the 
schools of Ware. When he was eighteen 
years of age he left the high school to work in 
his father's bakery. He continued in the em- 
ploy of his father until the death of the latter, 
which occurred April 3, 1890. He succeeded 
his father, and by close attention and careful 
management he has considerably increased the 
good business which, by many years of patient 
labor and persevering effort, his father had es- 
tablished. He sells both at wholesale and re- 
tail, and gives employment to ten men. He 
uses three wagons in delivering his goods. 
Mr. Byrns resides at 64 West Street. The 
building next to his residence is occupied by 
the bakery, and was erected by his father more 
than twenty-five years ago. In politics Mr. 
Byrns is a Democrat; and, though having 
little desire for official position, he has, never- 
theless, during the past two years served ac- 
ceptably as a member of the Board of Water 
Commissioners. 




ILLARD A. TAYLOR, a farmer 
and insurance agent residing on the 
homestead farm in Granby, where 
his birth occurred June 19, 1848, is one of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4*3 



substantial citizens of the place and a repre- 
sentative of one of the first settlers of this sec- 
tion of the count)-. He traces his ancestry 
back through several generations to Ebenezer 
Taylor, one of the three original settlers of 
Granby. Ebenezer's grandson, Levi, who was 
great-grandfather of the present Willard A., 
served in the Revolutionary War at the age of 
sixteen. It is related of the youthful soldier 
that his mother's parting injunction was, 
"Levi, never let me hear of your being a cow- 
ard. 

George W. Taylor, the father of Willard 
A., spent his entire life on the ancestral acres. 
I Ie was born July I ", 1814, and departed this 
life August 3, 18S7. His wife, Elvira L. 
Knight, was bom in Brimfield, Mass., January 
5, 1817, and died December 10, 1883. He 
succeeded to the family estate and followed 
the occupation of his father, which was that of 
general husbandry. Two children were born 
to him and his wife, namely: Willard A., the 
subject of this sketch ; and Abbie \V. , the wife 
of Arthur W. Fiske, a well-known farmer of 
Granby. Both children received a good edu- 
cation, Mrs. Fiske having completed her 
school life at Mount Holyoke Seminary. 

Willard A. Taylor, born and bred to farm- 
ing, is continually improving the estate, 
which is one of the oldest and best cared 
for in the county. It has been in the Taylor 
family for more than one hundred and fifty 
years, as shown by the deed, bounding the 
homestead on common land, bearing the date 
of 1744. He, as well as his present wife, has 
also been a teacher in the public schools. 

Mr. Taylor has been twice married. His 
first marriage was with Ruth S. Lyman, a na- 
tive of Huntington and the daughter of the 
late Jairus Lyman, and was performed Decem- 
ber 6, 1877. Their married lite was of brief 
duration, as her death occurred August 19, 



1SS4, no issue being left. On the second oc- 
casion, October 21, 1886, Air. Taylor was 
united to Miss Clara L. Goldthwait, who was 
born in Glastonbury, Conn., May 4, 1856, 
being a daughter of Ebenezer Goldthwait, a 
prosperous fanner. Of this union there has 
been one child born, named George Goldth- 
wait Taylor. Mr. Taylor has always been ac- 
tively identified with the best interests of the 
town. He has taken special interest in the 
schools, and has been for many years, and is 
still, a member of the School Committee. Ik- 
is also a Trustee of the free public library, 
in the establishment of which he took an ac- 
tive part. He is prominent in political af- 
fairs, being an earnest Republican, and being 
now one of the Republican Town Committee. 
To the advancement of the moral and relig- 
ious welfare of the town, he contributes his 
full share of effort. Both Mr. and Mrs. Taylor 
are valued members of the Congregational 
church, he being superintendent of the Sunday - 
school connected with that organization. 




ON. GEORGE HENRY BARTLETT 
GREEN. This gentleman is one of 
the foremost young men of Hamp- 
shire County and has filled many important 
positions of public trust with marked ability. 
His birth occurred at Southampton, Mass., in 
December, 1845. He is a son of Francis D. 
Bartlett, who was born at Westhampton in 1822. 
His grandfather, Delano Bartlett, a native 
of Westhampton, Mass., settled in 1826 at 
Blandford, Hampden County, where he fol- 
lowed his trade of a blacksmith. He removed 
in 1840 to a farm in Southampton, which he 
conducted in connection with his trade for 
more than hall .1 1 entury. He married Sally 
Sikes, daughter of Increase Sikes, of Ludlow, 
Mass. ; and they reared a family of eight chil- 



4« 4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



dren. Francis D. Bartlett received a common- 
school education, and during his later youth 
was engaged in agricultural pursuits. When 
a young man he acquired the trade of a car- 
riage blacksmith, and in 1842 settled in Bel- 
chertown, being there employed by Nehemiah 
Smith. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Sarah Y. Bennett, was a daughter of Charles 
and Sally (Young) Bennett. Their union was 
blessed with two sons, Alonzo F. and George 
Henry. 

The father being removed by death while 
the children were yet infants, and the young 
mother being unable to provide for both, the 
younger, George Henry, was offered a home 
with his uncle, Reuben Green, who, being 
without children, treated him as a son; and, 
although never legally adopted, he was always 
known by the name of Green. The educa- 
tional facilities afforded to the lad were 
meagre ; but by perseverance and the proper 
application of his leisure time he succeeded 
in perfecting himself in the elementary 
branches to an extent which was sufficient to 
secure his entrance to the Wesleyan Academy, 
where he remained for a time; and he subse- 
quently taught school for twenty-five terms in 
all. At the death of his uncle he inherited 
the latter's property by will, and still resides 
upon the farm, which consists of one hundred 
and forty-five acres, situated in the south-west- 
ern section of Belchertown and known as 
"The Folly." 

On May 4, 1869, Mr. Green was most hap- 
pily married to Nancy Howe, daughter of 
George C. and Sophia (Burnett) Sanford, of 
Belchertown, and of their eight children five 
are now living, namely: Iva Louise; Sarah 
Sanford; Harriett Sophia; Clayton Reuben; 
and George Henry Bartlett, Jr. Of these 
Iva Louise was married October 8, 1890, to 
Lurin Eugene White, of Chicago, son of Wil- 



bur S. and Orrilla C. White, of Belchertown, 
and has one son, named Carlton Vannice. 
Sarah Sanford is the wife of Addison D. 
Moore, Jr., son of Addison D. and Kate (Buck 
ingham) Moore, of Belchertown. Their el- 
dest son, Carlton Dewitt, who was born Octo- 
ber 21, 1 87 1, was a very bright and promising 
youth. After graduating at the head of his 
class from the Belchertown High School he 
became a student at the Massachusetts Agri- 
cultural College, and in November, 1890, he 
entered the employ of the Otis Company at 
Palmer, Mass., where he attained rapid ad- 
vancement, and established for himself a re- 
markable record as an accountant by adjusting 
the entire pay-roll of more than one thousand 
employees, whose wages varied to a considera- 
ble extent, without a single error. He was 
called from earth in the very springtime of his 
life, on January 11, 1892, beloved and re- 
spected by all who knew him. 

Mr. Green conducts general farming and 
dairying, but makes a specialty of raising 
fruit, at which he is an expert, having in his 
extensive orchard upward of one hundred and 
fifty varieties of apples, pears, peaches, and 
grapes; and he has secured many premiums for 
his beautiful fruit displays. He is an active 
member of Union Grange, Patrons of Hus- 
bandry, and a Director and Secretary of the 
Belchertown Creamery Association. 

Mr. Green is an earnest supporter of the 
principles of the Republican party, which he 
has so faithfully and honorably represented in 
the various important offices he has been called 
upon to fill, and where he has displayed a rare 
knowledge of public affairs, together with a 
judicious understanding of their proper admin- 
istration. He has served as a member of the 
School Board since 1876, and has been an As- 
sessor eight years. He was a member of the 
House of Representatives in the State legis- 




JACOB CARL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



487 



Lit lire of 1892, and was in the Senate in 1893 
and 1894. During his legislative service he 
was a member of various committees, including 
Education, Public Health, Labor, Libraries, 
and Printing, being chairman of the three last 
named. 



■ -»..-. 



OHN F. AIKEN, a prosperous farmer 
of Prescott, Mass., was born upon the 
farm which he now owns and occupies, 
February 9, 1835, son of Benjamin and Lu- 
cinda (Paul) Aiken. Mr. Aiken's paternal 
grandfather was an early settler in Hardwick, 
Worcester County, where he followed agricult- 
ural pursuits during his entire life. 

Benjamin Aiken was born in Hardwick and 
reared to farm life. He settled in Prescott 
upon the farm where his son, John F., now 
resides, and conducted it successfully for man}' 
years. He was an able and industrious farmer, 
and improved his property to a considerable 
extent, erecting the present buildings, which 
were the best and most substantial in town 
at that time. He died at the age of fifty-two 
years. His wife, Lucinda Paul, who was born 
in Berkley, Bristol Count)-, became the mother 
of six children, four of whom are now living, 
namely: Benjamin P., a resident of West 
Brookfield ; Mary, widow of Elbridge Ruggles, 
residing in Hardwick; James N., who resides 
in Prescott; and John F., the subject of this 
sketch, who is the youngest. The others, now 
departed, were: Julia, Mrs. Shaw; and Sarah, 
Mrs. Gould. The mother lived to reach the 
age of eighty- nine years. 

John F. Aiken was educated in the district 
schools of his native town, and at an early age 
commenced to assist his father in the lighter 
labors of the farm. When he was nineteen 
he took charge of the farm, and at the age of 
twenty-one he purchased the homestead. He 
has added to the property since taking posses- 



sion, and now owns eighty-five acres of well- 
improved land, which he conducts with ability 
and success. In connection with general farm- 
ing he makes a specialty of fruit growing 
and dairying, ami keeps a herd of from ten to 
twenty cows. He is a Democrat in politics, 
and was a member of the Board of Selectmen 
for two terms. 

On December 21, 1859, Mr. Aiken was 
united in marriage to Mary A. Lovering, who 
was born in Spencer, Mass., September 16, 
1S41. Mr. and Mrs. Aiken have had five chil- 
dren, as follows: Elmer M., who was born 
July 16, 1863, and resides at home; Fidelia 
P., born April 25, 1867, and now the wife of 
Henry F. Drury; Luella F. , born October 26, 
1869, residing in Athol, Mass. ; Estella and 
Florence, who are no longer living. 

Mr. and Mrs. John F. Aiken are members 
of the Congregational church. Mr. Aiken is 
an old and highly esteemed resilient of Pres- 
cott; and his son, Elmer M., who is a well- 
known and progressive young man, is now a 
member of the Board of Selectmen of the town. 



i^pACOB CARL, whose portrait is pre- 
sented in connection with this bio- 
graphical notice, is a prosperous tobacco 
grower and real estate owner of Hatfield, 
Mass., where he has made his home upward of 
forty years. He was born in Walldorf, King- 
dom of Saxony, Germany, August 20, 1834, 
son of Christian and Maria (Hirsh) Carl. Mr. 
Carl's parents were thrifty farming people, 
who emigrated to the United States in 1855. 
and resided in Hatfield during the remainder 
of their lives. Christian Carl died at the age 
of sixty-two years. He was the father of the 
following children : Catherine, Dorothy, Jacob, 
Margaret, Minnie, Frederick, Philip, and 
John. 



4 88 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Jacob Carl was educated in Germany, and in 
1854, when about twenty years of age, came to 
the United States. He settled in Hatfield, 
where he and his brother Frederick purchased 
the farm which the latter now owns. Indus- 
trious, painstaking, and capable, he realized 
good pecuniary results from his labors; and ten 
years later, selling his interest in that prop- 
erty, he bought the Amariah Strong farm sit- 
uated near the Hatfield station, which he 
improved by building a new barn and remod- 
elling the other buildings. He resided there 
for twelve years, during which time he was 
successful in the cultivation of tobacco and did 
a great deal of teaming. He finally sold the 
Strong farm and bought the T. Bagg property, 
which consists of fifteen acres, and is consid- 
ered one of the best farms for the raising of 
tobacco in Hatfield. He devotes ten acres 
annually to the cultivation of tobacco, and is 
looked upon as producing the finest crops in 
the Connecticut valley. 

He was an inspector of tobacco for F. C. 
Linde, Hamilton & Co., acting as their agent 
for twenty-two years; but in 1895 he resigned 
in favor of his son, who is now filling his 
place. In 1893 Mr. Carl erected a handsome 
residence, enlarged his tobacco sheds, and 
increased his storage facilities. He deals 
largely in leaf tobacco, buying from the 
farmers and shipping it to market. He has in- 
vested to a considerable extent in real estate; 
and, besides possessing several pieces of valua- 
ble farm property, he owns the G. Waite house 
on Main Street, a new and handsome resi- 
dence, containing all modern improvements. 

On February 26, 1864, Mr. Carl was united 
in marriage to Abbie Partenheimer. She was 
born in Germany, daughter of Wendell Parten- 
heimer, a weaver by trade, who emigrated to 
the United States and settled in Leeds, Mass. 
He became a respected citizen, and died at an 



advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Carl are the 
parents of three children, as follows: Nellie 
A., who married George Belden, and resides 
in North Hatfield; Henry W., who assists his 
father and is an inspector of tobacco; ami 
Emma L. , an accomplished musician, who 
resides at home. Mr. Carl's success in life 
is clue to patient industry and sound judg- 
ment in the management of affairs. He is a 
thoroughly competent farmer, an intelligent 
and useful citizen, possessing the esteem and 
confidence of his fellow-townsmen. He is a 
Republican in politics and liberal in his re- 
ligious views. 



Tt^NUSSFLL R. PACKARD, who during 
I S^ the past fifteen years has served as 
■i-^ y_ |V Clerk of the town of Cummington, 
Hampshire County, of which place he is a 
highly esteemed and respected citizen, was 
born here on June 2, 1828, son of Leonard and 
Martha (Jenkins) Packard. 

Leonard Packard was a native of Goshen, 
Mass., where his birth occurred on February 
23, 1 801. During the early years of his man- 
hood he was engaged as a carpenter and mill- 
wright in different places; but later on in his 
life he purchased a farm at Spruce Corner, 
Mass., and there devoted his attention princi- 
pally to agricultural pursuits. From Spruce 
Corner he removed to Williamsburg, Mass., 
and worked several years at carpentering and 
mill work. Then he removed to Rocky Hill, 
Conn., was married again, and lived there, 
working at carpenter's and mill work for quite 
a number of years. After the death of his last 
wife he came to Cummington, Mass., and 
spent his remaining days with his son Russell. 
His wife, Martha Jenkins, to whom he was 
married in 1826, bore him three children as 
follows: Russell R. ; Mitchell, born July 3, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



489 



1834; and Martha, born on January 29, 1836. 
The mother died in 1844, at the age of forty- 
three years, and the father on March 28, 
1892. He was a Whig in political affiliation 
until that party was succeeded by the Republi- 
can party, of which he then became an adhe- 
rent. In religious views he was liberal. 

Russell R. Packard began when fourteen 
years of age to learn the trade of a carpenter. 
During the winters that followed he was em- 
ployed at Williamsburg, Mass., making tools 
in the factory. From the latter [dace he went 
to Swift River, Mass., where he purchased of 
L. H. Bates a farm of seventy acres ; and for 
ten years he turned his attention to agriculture 
with good success, during his residence there 
making various improvements in both build- 
ings and farm. At the expiration of that time 
he sold out and bought the Nelson place in 
Cummingham, to the appearance and comfort 
of which he has since greatly added. After 
removing to Cummington he learned watch- 
making of Mr. Brown, and has since engaged 
in that business, in which he has as yet no 
competitor. On September 16, 1849, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Rhoda Willcutt, 
who was born in Chesterfield, Mass., on May 
22, 1831, and died March 29, 1893. She was 
a daughter of Joel and Malency (Pates) Will- 
cutt. Their union was blessed by the birth of 
four children, three sons and a daughter, as 
follows: Almon, born in 1850, died in 1850; 
Lucinda A., born January 20, 1852, is the wife 
<>f Edward Bartlett, by whom she has had four 
children — Lena, who died in childhood, 
Howard, Roland, and Amy — the family re 
siding in Lorain, Ohio; Mitchell M., born 
Mav 15, 1863, died October 12, 1873; and 
Kimball M., born February 17, 1876, lives at 
home. 

Mr. Packard has held various offices of re- 
sponsibility and trust, in all of which he has 



served with honor to himself and satisfaction 
to his constituents. In i.S.No he was chosen 
Town Clerk, of which office he is still the in- 
cumbent. Among the other offices in which 
he has served may be mentioned that of Town 
Treasurer, to which he was elected March 14, 
1887, and which he still retains, and that of 
Collector, which he held for three years. He 
has also acted as Sealer of Weights and Meas- 
ures, ami as Justice of the Peace two terms. 
Since 1880 he has served as Treasurer of the 
Hillside Agricultural Society, and has been 
Treasurer of the Cummington Co-operative 
Creamery Association ever since 1889. 




GBERT S. WARNER, a prominent 
farmer and veterinary surgeon of Hat- 
field, was born at the Warner home- 
stead, February 25, 1845, son of James W. and 
Louisa B. (Longley) Warner. Dr. Warner is 
a descendant of Andrew Warner, one of the 
first settlers of Hadley, Mass., who died in 
1694. He was the father of .Andrew, Daniel, 
Isaac, Jacob, Robert, and Mary. 

Daniel, son of Andrew Warner, was born 
in Hatfield and settled upon a farm in this 
town, where he resided until his death. He 
was twice married, and had a large family of 
children, among them : Sarah, Abraham, An- 
drew, Mary, Anna, Ebenezer, and Elizabeth. 
Ebenezer Warner, son of Daniel and Martha 
(Boltwood) Warner, married Ruth Ely, settled 
in Belchertown, and engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. His son Moses Warner, who was a 
lifelong resident of Belchertown, married 
Sarah Porter, and was the father of a second 
Moses Warner. The latter was born in Bel- 
chertown in 1754, but in early manh 1 

moved to Hatfield, where he settled upon a 
farm located directly opposite the Billings 
homestead. He died in 1828, having been a 



49° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Deacon of the Congregational church for many 
years. He was married on June 4, 1779, to 
Mary King, who was born in 1757, and died 
in 1831. They had five children, named: 
John, Elisha, Sarah, Mary, and Moses. 

John Warner, Mr. Warner's grandfather, 
was burn in Hatfield, and commenced life as 
a teamster. He drove a four-horse team be- 
tween Hatfield and Boston, carrying produce 
to market, and returning with merchandise. 
He later engaged in mercantile business in 
Hatfield, which he conducted in connection 
with farming, and became successful. He 
erected the substantial brick residence which 
is now occupied by Mr. E. S. Warner. He 
died at fifty-two years of age. In 1806 he 
married Caroline Whiton, who was born in 
Lee, Mass.; and their children were: Mary, 
James W. , John S. , Jonathan, Caroline R., 
Eliza, and Lydia. The mother died March 1, 

1853- 

James W. Warner, Mr. Warner's father, 

was born in Hatfield, May 11, 1809. He 
inherited the Warner homestead, and con- 
ducted the farm with prosperous results. A 
Republican in politics and a member of the 
Congregational church, he was a man of excel- 
lent judgment, was progressive in his ideas 
and actively interested in all matters relating 
to the improvement of the town. James W. 
Warner died November 20, 1 891. His wife, 
Louisa B. Longley, whom he married on 
March 30, 1836, was born January 14, 18 16, 
daughter of Alpheus Longley, who was Post- 
master of the town many years. She became 
the mother of eleven children, as follows: 
Charles L., born April 11, 1837; Mary L., 
born November 26, 1838, now the wife of 
William D. Billings, of Hatfield; Sarah A., 
who was born March 26, 1841, and married 
C. B. Bardwell ; Moses E. , born February 3, 
1843; Egbert S., the subject of this sketch; 



John A., who was born October 10, 1846, and 
married Elizabeth Bacon; James D., who was 
born September 24, 1849, and married Hannah 
Bach; Benjamin M., who was born January 
14, 1853, and married Ella E. Fitch; George 
W., born July 5, 1855, who married Nellie 
M. Fisher; Caroline L., born February 15, 
1858, now the wife of Arthur G. Holt; and 
Lewis W., who was born October 25, i860, 
and died in 1864. The mother died January 
10, 1890. 

Egbert S. Warner commenced his education 
in the schools of Hatfield, and completed his 
studies at the Westfield Academy. At the age 
of nineteen he entered the store of W. D. Bill- 
ings as a clerk, and after remaining there for 
one year he pursued a course at Burnham's 
Business College in Springfield, Mass. He 
then engaged in farming, and in 1872 pur- 
chased the G. W. Hubbard farm, which he 
improved by building a new barn. During his 
leisure time he has taken up the study of vet- 
erinary surgery, in which he has become very 
proficient, and has a large practice. He con- 
ducts general farming, and, making a specialty 
of raising tobacco, cultivates seven acres of 
the weed annually, which average one ton to 
the acre. He is interested in the breeding of 
fine horses, and owns the well-known stallion, 
Warner Knox, a grandson of General Knox, 
and is also the owner of eleven speedy trotters. 
He is a Democrat in politics, and has served 
as a member of the Board of Selectmen, as 
School Committee, and as Constable, and is at 
the present time one of the State cattle in- 
spectors. 

On November 19, 1874, Mr. Warner was 
united in marriage with Julia Hunt, daughter 
of Charles and Cora (Strain) Hunt. Mrs. 
Julia H. Warner died in 1S79, leaving him 
two children, namely: Cora H., born June 27, 
1876; and Carrie H., born March 12, 1879. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKYV 



-49' 




MAND J. SCHILLARE, the leading- 
photographer of Northampton, has ad- 
vanced to his present position of 
business prosperity solely through his own per- 
sonal ability and persistent determination to 
succeed. He is a French Canadian by birth, 
having first opened his eves upon the world 
at St. Guillaume, Province of Quebec, Can- 
ada, July 30, 1856, and is the son of David 
Schillare, who was bom at Maskinonge, in 1827. 

Mr. Schillare's grandfather, Thellosphore 
Schillare. who wedded Mile. Lamere, was a 
son of Dr. Frederick Schillare (or Schiller, 
which was the original manner of spelling the 
name), a German physician, who emigrated 
from German)' to Canada and is said to have 
been a relative of the famous poet of that 
name. He was a man of wealth and influence 
in his day, prominent both in public affairs 
and as a skilful medical practitioner, and was 
widely known as the "'Red Doctor," on 
account of his exceedingly ruddy complexion, 
although a man of strictly temperate habits. 
Of the three sons and one daughter born to 
Mr. Schillare's grandparents, all have passed 
away with the exception of the latter. His 
mother was before her marriage Mile. Angel 
Mondor, a native of St. Francois, Province of 
Quebec, where the nuptial ceremony occurred. 
( )f his immediate relatives an Aunt Lasine is 
the wife of Xavier Laurion, of Leeds, Mass. ; 
an uncle, Louis Schillare, resided at the fam- 
ily homestead until his death, which occurred 
at the age of fifty-five years; and his son, Dr. 
Louis Schillare, is now a practising physician 
of Lowell, Mass. The others have all gone to 
their final rest, and are buried in their native 
province. 

David Schillare moved with his family from 
Canada to the United States in 1863, first set- 
tling at Florence, Mass., and in 1867 remov- 
ing to Leeds, where he resided until his 



decease, which occurred July 12. 1891. Al- 
though never having the advantages of even a 
primary education, he was .1 man of more than 
ordinary intelligence, and for a period of 
twenty-five years was a useful and trusted 
employee of the Nonotuck Silk Company. He 
was strictly conscientious, honest, and up- 
right, and was often taken advantage of by 
others in business. He, however, succeeded 
in securing a comfortable home for his family, 
which reverted to his widow at his decease. 
She now resides with her son Louis, having 
been the mother of eight children, two of 
whom, twins, died in infancy. The others are 
as follows: David Schillare, a carpenter of 
Northampton; Mary, wile of Oliver Ducharme, 
a resilient of Leeds; Amand J. ; Ellen, wife 
of Frank Marcatte, also of Leeds; Mrs. Joseph 
Uarsall ; and Loins Schillare, a plumber resid- 
ing at Leeds. 

Amand J. Schillare was by force of circum- 
stances obliged to contribute toward his own 
support at a very early age, and was therefore 
denied the advantages of an education which 
other children were acquiring while he was 
hard at work in the cotton-mills at Florence. 
He entered the mills when he was nine years 
of age, and was employed there most of the 
time for three years. At the age of twelve 
years he removed with his parents to Lei 
and for the succeeding five years he was 
employed more or less in the Nonotuck Silk 
Company's mills. When not directly engaged 
in mill work he labored at different occupa- 
tions, among which was the taking of contracts 
to clear land, and besides working diligently 
himself he hired others to work with him, for 
whose labor he received a profit of ten cents 
per cord. Discontent and dissatisfaction with 
his lot in life were so plainly manifested by 
him that he was considered by his superiors as 
a wayward hoy. 



-19 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



During these years of excessive labor and 
privation he was constantly dreaming of and 
aspiring to a higher calling, and was often 
censured for having a book or a paper in his 
hand while at work. Happening to visit the 
studio of the Knowlton Brothers one day, 
while admiring specimens of their photographs, 
it suddenly occurred to him that such a busi- 
ness would be most congenial to him ; and act- 
ing upon this suggestion he made inquiries of 
the proprietor, who offered to give him three 
months' instruction in the art for the sum of 
twenty-five dollars. This proposition he ac- 
cepted after consulting his parents, and paid 
fifteen dollars down, that sum being the extent 
of his worldly possessions. He remained at 
the studio for a period of four months, during 
which he applied himself to the acquisition of 
all knowledge possibly obtainable in the art ; 
and at the termination of that length of time 
he returned to Leeds, where he resumed work 
in the yards of the silk-mill, later finding 
employment in the spool shop of that concern 
• it "lie dollar per day. 

In 1874, when the memorable flood swept 
over the Mill River district and caused the 
industries to cease operations for an indefinite 
period, the Knowlton Brothers did an exten- 
sive business in taking views of the devastated 
landscape, necessitating the employment of 
extra hands; and Mr. Schillare again sought 
and obtained a position in their gallery, where 
he made himself so useful and agreeable that, 
when the rush of business slackened and the 
extra help was dispensed with one by one, he 
was retained. His employers took an interest 
in his desire to progress, and finally placed 
him in charge of their branch gallery, where 
he is at the present time conducting an exten- 
sive business on his own account. He was 
thus enabled to tenderly and bountifully pro- 
vide for the comforts of his father during his 



declining years, and also to afford even a luxu- 
rious home for his aged mother. 

Since the tide of success turned so effect- 
ually in his direction Mr. Schillare has made 
rapid advancement in his art, and is now the 
leading artist photographer in Hampden 
County, enjoying the patronage of the very 
best class of residents together with the major- 
ity of the college students. He has been in 
business on his own account for the past ten 
years, and his patronage has increased to such 
an extent that five assistants are constantly 
kept busy at his studio. He makes a specialty 
of views and crayon portraits; and, although he 
has laid aside his palette in order to attend to 
the more lucrative part of the business, he still 
retains his love and admiration for the higher 
branches of art. For years his leisure hours 
have been spent in repairing the neglect which 
his youth suffered in the way of education, and 
he has succeeded in enriching his mind with 
knowledge gathered from useful books, of 
which he has accumulated a large and exceed- 
ingly interesting collection. 

In 1882 Mr. Schillare was most happily 
married at Florence to Miss Edwardina L. 
Mondor, of Salem, daughter of Amand and 
Ellen (Theiren) Mondor, both of whom were 
natives of Canada. Her father died at Salem 
in [882, aged fifty-eight years; and her mother 
is now residing in Northampton. Of their 
twelve children, but two sons and two daugh- 
ters now survive. Mrs. Sehillare's brother 
Edward enlisted in the United States Navy on 
board the ship "Baltimore," and is supposed 
to have been lost at sea; Albert J. Mondor is 
a grocer at Lawrence, Mass. ; and her sister is 
now Mrs. Oscar Lacroix, of Northampton. 
Mr. and Mrs. Schillare have an interesting 
family of two sons and two daughters, namely : 
Laura E., born June 21, 1883; Conrad, born 
August 16, 1887; Leon J., born February 8, 



9M 



*^ Pflfe 



jitkii 



\ 







HENRY R. CHASE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



195 




icSSg; and Eugenie M. , born June 4, 1893. 
The family reside at their pleasant home at 39 
Union Street, which Mr. Schillare purchased 
in 1S92, at a cost of about rive thousand dol- 
lars. He has also invested in other real estate, 
situated on Graves Avenue, upon which he 
erected a block of three tenements as a 
speculation. 

«■*»»■» ■ 

JCHAEL E. COONEY, proprietor 

and manager of the Florence 
Hotel, at Florence, Mass., was 
born in Haydenville, July 1, 1849, son of 
Michael and Rosanna (Martin) Cooney, both 
of Irish birth. 

Mr. Cooney's father was a stone mason by 
trade. He came to this country in 1844, 
locating at first in Holyoke, Mass., where in 
1848 he married Rosanna Martin. They set- 
tled in Haydenville, where he carried on a 
teaming business for several years, and where 
his death occurred in October, 1882. His 
wife survived him ten years, dying at the age 
of sixty-six. They were the parents of nine 
children, of whom four are deceased. Of 
these latter, two died in infancy; Kate died 
when fourteen years; and Rosina, wife of 
William Larkin, of Williamsburg, died at the 
age of twenty-seven years, leaving one daugh- 
ter, Rosanna. 

Michael E. Cooney was the eldest child of 
the family. Having obtained a good education 
in the place of his nativity, he learned the 
brass-finisher's trade, at which he subsequently 
worked in various places for some thirteen 
years. In 1881 he removed with his family to 
Florence; and the following year he purchased 
the Florence Hotel, which he has since con- 
dinted with signal success, winning popularity 
as a host who understands well how to cater 
to the tastes and wants of his guests. He has 
also devoted a portion of his time for the past 



tew years to tanning and raisin- tobacco. He- 
has a pleasant dwelling-house <>n South Main 
Street, which he took possession of last year. 
Mr. Cooney was married in February, 1879, 
to Margaret Mahoney, a native of Ireland, 
daughter of Mr. and Mis. John Mahoney, who 
emigrated to the United States in 1870. 
Neither of her parents is now living. Mrs. 
Mahoney died in July, [889, aged seventy- 
three vears, ami Mr. Mahoney in November, 
1893, at the venerable age of fourscore years. 
They were the parents of five children, namely : 
James, who is in the electric business in Bos- 
ton ; William, a brass finisher in Lorain, 
Ohio; Bridget, the wife of Robert Tranor, of 
Fall River, Mass. ; John, a mechanic of Hay- 
denville; and Margaret, the wife of Mr. 
Cooney. ["he family circle of Mr. and Mrs. 
Cooney has been enlarged and enlivened by 
the advent of three bright and healthy chil- 
dren, namely: William, an active lad of six- 
teen years, in school at Northampton; Mi- 
chael, a strong lad of thirteen years; and 
Theresa Maria, an interesting little girl of 
nine sears. On political questions Mr. Coo- 
lie}' follows the lead of the Republican party, 
but has never sought or held office, devoting 
his time and attention to his private affairs. 



jWKNRY R. CHASE, whose portrait 
f^l accompanies this brief sketch of his 

Ji 9 \ > , honorable career to the present date, 

enlisted as a private in the Civil War, and 
during his three years oi service was gradually 
promoted till he reached the rank of Major. 
He is now a commercial traveller, residing at 
Northampton, Mass., and is widely known as 
a comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic 
and as a prominent Knight Templar. He was 
born January 26, 1838, in the town of Guil- 
ford, Vt., and there reared to a sturdy man- 



49 6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



hood. His father, Henry S. Chase, who was 
burr, in the same place, December 12, 181 1, 
was a son of Jonathan Chase, a native of Pom- 
fret, Conn., born November 24, 1776. 

His grandfather was three times married, 
his first two wives having been sisters bearing 
the name of Stuart; and his last wife was 
Sophia Houghton. Two sons and five daugh- 
ters were born of his marriages, all of whom 
grew to mature years, the youngest to die- 
being Caroline, who passed away when but 
sixteen years old. Three of his daughters 
married Universalis! ministers, one, Mary, 
being the wife of the Rev. Levi Ballon, a 
nephew of the Rev. Hosea Ballon, the "leather 
of Universalism. " Jonathan Chase was a 
prosperous farmer, and spent the larger part of 
his fourscore years of life in Guilford, where 
his death occurred in January, 1856. 

Henry S. Chase received an excellent aca- 
demic education, and was engaged as a teacher 
for nearly eighty terms. He was also superin- 
tendent of schools for many years, and served 
in the other town offices. He was strongly 
interested in military tactics, and organized a 
company of militia, of which he was chosen 
Captain. In 1836 he married Lucy M. 
Weatherhead, a daughter of Ira Weatherhead, 
a carpenter of Guilford, and they became the 
parents of three children, namely: Lucy Ann 
and Henry R., twins; and a daughter named 
Ellen, who died in infancy. Lucy Ann Chase 
passed to the higher life when seventeen years 
old. The mother died in 1842, being but 
twenty-nine years of age; and the father after- 
ward married Martha Ward, a daughter of 
Henry Ward. Six children were born of this 
union, two of whom are deceased, IClizabeth 
having died when five years old, and Albert 
at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving a wife, 
imw deceased, and one daughter. The record 
ol the four living is as follows: Eliza P. is 



the wife of John E. Treveres, of Springfield ; 
Jennie M., wife of Albert R. Willard, of 
Greenfield; Mary E. , wife of Henry Rugg, 
of Brattleboro, Vt. ; and Pitta E., the wife of 
David A. Young, of Brattleboro. The father 
departed this life February 24, 1892; and his 
widow a few weeks later, March 5, 1892. 

Henry R. Chase was prepared for college at 
Powers Institute, subsequently spending one 
year at Middlebury College. He began teach- 
ing when a beardless boy of sixteen years, and 
taught much of the time thereafter until 1870, 
his first experience being in the district 
schools. Afterward he taught in the high 
school of Newport, N. H., and at Guilford, 
Vt. This position he resigned in 1862 to 
become a defender of his country, enlisting 
August 11, in Company E, Eleventh Vermont 
Volunteer Infantry, as a private. On the 
organization of the company Mr. Chase was 
appointed Second Sergeant, being promoted 
September 6, 1862, to the rank of Second 
Lieutenant, and August 19, 1863, to the rank 
of First Lieutenant. In that month the regi- 
ment was changed to artillery; and on January 
30, 1865, Lieutenant Chase was appointed 
Captain of Battery M. This was followed by 
still another promotion, he being made Major 
of the First Vermont Artillery, July 25, 1865. 
He was an active participant in many of the 
most important battles of the Rebellion, win- 
ning distinction by his brave and meritorious 
conduct. For eleven months he was a pris- 
oner, having been taken in front of Petersburg, 
and being confined from June 23, 1864, until 
July 3, 1864, in Libby Prison, whence he was 
taken successively to Lynchburg, Danville, 
and Macon, Ga., being in the last place from 
July 10 until August 25. He was next sent 
to Savannah, thence to Charleston, S.C., and 
from there to Columbia, Charlotte, and Ra- 
leigh, and thence to Goldsboro, where he was 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4o; 



paroled on March 3, 1865. He, with a com- 
rade, Lieutenant Parker, made several ineffect- 
ual attempts to escape while en route to 
Charleston, having learned that they were to 
go there via Savannah. They agreed to jump 
the train near Fort Motte, and did so October 
6, making their escape into the woods, but 
were recaptured. < In March 8, five days after 
his parole. Major Chase reached .Annapolis. 
He was given a month's furlough, which he 
spent at home. He rejoined his regiment at 
Danville, Ya. , where he was discharged, Au- 
gust 25, 1865, and was then sent to Burling- 
ton, Vt. , on special duty, reaching his home 
on the 22d of the following month. 

On April 11, 1865, while on his furlough, 
Mr. Chase was united in marriage with Mary 
L. Wheeler, of Guilford, a daughter of Deacon 
Stephen and Maria (Emerson) Wheeler, the 
former of whom died in December, 1887. 
Mrs. Wheeler is now a remarkably strong and 
active woman for her age, eighty-one years. 
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Chase: Lucy M. and Charles II. Lucy M., 
who was a student of the Smith College and 
subsequent!}' graduated from the Westfield 
State Normal School, is now a successful 
teacher at the Easthampton High School. 
Charles II., a resident of this city, married 
Josephine Thompson ; and they are the parents 
of one son, Leland Henry. Mrs. Mary L. 
Chase's married life was not of long duration, 
she having passed to the silent land in 1874, 
in the thirty-fifth year of her age. On August 
19, 1875, Mr. Chase was united in wedlock 
with Elvira H. Wheeler, a sister of his former 
wife. The only child of their union is Mary 
Louise, an ambitious and faithful student of 
eleven years, who during the school years of 
1894 and 1895, was neither absent, tardy, nor 
dismissed from school, a record worthy of note. 

For twenty-three years Mr. Chase has trav- 



elled for Springfield houses, the past two years 
representing the well-known firm of Forbes & 
Wallace. In 1885 he purchased his present 
home lot of two acres, erecting his fine resi- 
dence the same year. He is a steadfast Re- 
publican in his political views, and while in 
Guilford held the various town offices. Mr. 
Chase is a member of the First Baptist 
Church, of William L. Baker Post, No. 86, 
Grand Army of the Republic, and in Masonry 
has taken the thirty-third degree, and is Past 
High Priest of Northampton Royal Arch 
Chapter, and Eminent Commander of North- 
ampton Commander}' of Knights Templars. 



YgTlRAM TAYLOR, of Northampton, 
r^rl has a wide reputation as a railway 

J- 3 ^ contractor, having been identified 

with the work on many of the New England 
roads and several of the Southern roads. He- 
is a native of the Empire State, having been 
born in June, 1835, in Schoharie County, son 
of Hiram Taylor, Sr. , who was born in Con- 
necticut in 1796. 

The father was a lawyer, and after his ad- 
mission to the bar settled in Schoharie 
County, New York, practising in Livingston- 
ville, where his death occurred when sixty - 
three years of age, in 1859. He married 
Susan Ingram, a native of Albany; and of the 
ten children born to them, five sons and four 
daughters grew to years of discretion. The 
six following still survive: McKay, a farmer, 
residing at Wellsbridge, N.Y. ; James, like- 
wise engaged in fanning, a resident of Dur- 
ham, N.Y. ; Hiram, the subject of this short 
biography; Alfred, in California, if living; 
Mis. Beulah Snyder, oi < lak Hill, N.Y. ; 
Phcebe, a resident of Wellsbridge, N.Y. The 
mother died the year prior to her husband's 
decease. 



49 8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Hiram Taylor spent his early life in his 
New York home, where his opportunities for 
securing an education were limited to a few 
months each year in the district school. 
Being a boy of high ambitions with a spirit of 
resolute determination, he struck out for him- 
self when but fifteen years of age, beginning 
work on a railway, where he drove spikes or 
did anything that could be expected of a boy, 
receiving one dollar per day and boarding him- 
self. He worked faithfully, and was amply 
rewarded by being made foreman the second 
year, a position seldom given to one so young. 
He was employed on various New England 
railways, notably the Connecticut River, the 
Boston & Albany, the old Hartford, P. & F. , 
now the New England, the Hartford to Willi- 
mantic, the Shore Line from New London, 
and the Hudson River Railroad from Albany 
to Poughkeepsie. On this latter road Mr. 
Taylor was first employed in contracting, and 
was at one time road master there; and he was 
likewise road master for five years on the Con- 
necticut River road. Before the war Mr. 
Li\ lor spent some time on the Georgia Central 
Railway, and from 1884 until 1889 was in 
the Carolinas and Alabama, connected with the 
railways of those States. In defence of the 
nation's flag he enlisted in 1862 from New 
London in the Twenty-first Connecticut Vol- 
unteer Infantry, and for thirty-five months 
thereafter served in the ranks, but, fortunately, 
escaped the missiles of war, although he had 
some hair-breadth escapes, at one time his gun 
having been actually shot from his hands. 

Mr. Taylor has been three times married. 
11 is first wife, formerly Lizzie Lasher, to 
whom he was united in 1S56, died in i860, 
leaving one daughter, Carrie, now the wife of 
Burr Leavenworth, of New Haven, Conn., and 
mother of one son, Harold. He subsequently 
married Mr>. Frances Comstock Billings, the 



willow of George Billings, a sea captain, who 
was lost during a voyage, leaving her with one 
daughter, Fannie. Mrs. Frances C. B. Tay- 
lor lived but three years after their union, 
dying in this city in 1869, leaving one daugh- 
ter, Harriet \V. On February 4, 1870, Mr. 
Taylor married Miss Emma Paul, of Palmer. 
The fruits of this union are three children, 
namely: Susan M., who married Harry Hill- 
man, of Schenectady, N. Y. , and has one 
daughter; Irene Elizabeth; and Beulah, now 
in the high school. 

Air. Taylor has always evinced an active and 
generous interest in the advancement of the 
welfare of city, county, and State, but has 
refused office as a general thing, although he 
did serve one term as superintendent of streets. 
He is an ardent Republican in his political 
affiliations; and socially he belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the 
Red Men, and to the William L. Baker Post, 
No. 86, Grand Army of the Republic. Relig- 
iously, he is bound by no creed, but is a firm 
believer that in doing good deeds he may find 
the way to better things to come. In 1890 he 
bought his delightful home, "Look Out," 
located on Prospect Street, where he has seven 
acres of land, on which is a fine grove of native 
trees, mostly the fragrant pine. The house 
commands an extended and charming view of 
the surrounding landscape, and the attractive 
home is the centre of a liberal hospitality. 




AMUEL FOLLETT HILLS, a 
well-to-do farmer of Worthington, 
was born upon the farm he now 
owns and occupies, February 20, 1845, son of 
Julius and Elizabeth Follett Brown Hills. 
Mr. Hills's grandfather was Daniel Hills, a 
resident of Grantville, Conn., who moved from 
that State to Blandford, Mass., and followed 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



499 



agricultural pursuits there until his death. 
Julius Hills was horn in Granville, January 
31, 1806. He accompanied his parents to 
Massachusetts, and when a young man he came 
to Worthington, where he purchased a farm of 
one hundred and fifty acres, which he con- 
ducted with success during the remainder of 
his life. He died November 12, 1893. The 
wife of Julius Hills was a daughter of Luke 
Brown and Bethsheba (Warner) Brown, and 
was bom in Hardwick, .Mass., June 5, 1806. 
Her father, who was a graduate of Harvard 
College and was a well-known lawyer of his 
day, died in 1835. Mrs. Julius Hills became 
the mother of two children, namely: Daniel 
1'". Hills, who married Anna C. Coles, of 
Westfield, and died January 25, 1882; and 
Samuel Follett Hills, who bears the name of 
,1 patriotic ancestor now to be mentioned. 

Samuel Follett, the great-grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch, was born in the town 
ol Attleboro, Bristol County, Mass., Novem- 
ber 23, 175". Immediately after the fight at 
Lexington (April 19, 1775) he enlisted at 
Swanzey, N.H., under Captain Jonathan Whit- 
comb, marched to Mystic, near Boston, where 
he joined the New Hampshire regiment com- 
manded by Colonel Reed a few days before 
the battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775), in 
which he participated. He remained in this 
regiment until discharged. Afterward he vol- 
unteered to serve one month longer in the 
company of Captain Baldwin or Spaulding. 
In April, 1778, he enlisted at Worcester in 
the company of Captain Nathan Harrington, 
whii h was ordered to join a detachment, under 
Major Reuben Reed, that was to guard a body 
of prisoners from General Burgoyne's army, 
then at Cambridge, Mass., to Rutland, in 
Worcester County, Mass. During a portion 
of the time he was on guard. At that place 
he was sick with the small-pox and was in the 



hospital. In July, 1780, he again enlisted at 
Worcester, in the company of Captain Grout, 
who marched to Butts Hill in Rhode Island. 
He was granted a pension, May 10, 1833, to 
commence March 4, 1831. He came to the 
town of Worthington, Mass., in 17.X1, where 
he resided until his death, November 30, 1854, 
ninety-seven years and a few days old. His 
fust vote was cast fur General Washington for 
President of the United States in 1788, and 
his last for the defeated candidate, General 
Scott, in 1 85 j. 

Samuel F. Hills was educated in the district 
schools. He assisted in carrying on the farm, 
and succeeded to the ownership of the property 
after his father's death. His farm consists of 
two hundred and twenty-five acres, and is 
devoted to general husbandry and the raising 
of high-bred cattle, sheep, and horses. Mr. 
Hills is a Republican in politics, and is chair- 
man of the Board of Selectmen. 

On August 30, 1871, Mr. Hills was united 
in marriage with Josephine Maria (Mayhew) 
Burr, widow of (diver C. Purr, and a daughter 
of Lyman and Mary E. (Richards) Mayhew. 
Her father was born October 3, 1821, in Hunt- 
ington, Mass.. His wife, who was born in 
North Adams, Mass., April 9, 1825, died 
October 2, 1869, having been the mother of 
nine children: Jerome B. , Josephine, Mary 
Ella, Julia O. , Arthur Elmer Scott, Lyman 
A., Henry W., Martha L., and Eliza A., five 
of whom are still living. Mrs. Hills had two 
children by her first marriage: Frank, who 
died in 1868; and Frederick, who died in 
1884. Mr. and Mrs. Hills have three chil- 
dren, namely: Abbie Warner, who was born 
July 27, 1872, and married Judson G. Black- 
man, a farmer of Cummington, Mass. ; Mary 
E., who was born July 2, 1875, and is now a 
school-teacher; and Josephine Scott, born De- 
cember 10, 1S80. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




jHARLES D. HASKELL, an enter- 
prising merchant of Enfield, Hamp- 

j 9 ^ shire County, Mass., and a substan- 
tial citizen of this community, is a son of Ira 
1). and Adeline E. (Ayers) Haskell. He was 
born in the adjoining town of Greenwich, 
Mass., on April 18, 1858; and both his par- 
ents were also natives of that town. 

As early as 1858 Ira Dexter Haskell estab- 
lished himself in mercantile business in En- 
field, opening a general store at the stand now 
occupied by his son, which he continued to 
conduct in a successful manner up to the time 
of his death. He took an active interest in 
town affairs, and was often called upon to fill 
positions of responsibility and trust. He 
served as Selectman for a number of years, 
during the major part of the time acting 
as chairman of the board, and in the last 
years of his life he affiliated with the Demo- 
cratic party. In matters of religion his views 
were liberal. He died in February, 1887, at 
sixty-three years of age. He and his wife, 
Adeline Elizabeth Ayers, reared one son, 
Charles Dexter Haskell. Mrs. Adeline E. 
Haskell survived her husband about four years, 
dying in 1891. 

Charles Dexter Haskell acquired his early 
education in the public schools of Enfield; and 
later on, in 1877, he attended Williston Semi- 
nary. He entered his father's store in his 
boyhood as a clerk, continuing in that posi- 
tion until his father's decease, when the full 
charge of the business devolved upon him ; and 
since that time he has continued to conduct 
the store on his own account. It to-day 
enjoys the distinction of having been estab- 
lished longer than any other house in Enfield. 
He carries an excellent line of such goods as 
are found in a first-class general store, and 
sells at prices as low as consistent with the 
laws of trade. Mary Patten Allen, to whom 



he was united on the 6th of June, 1892, was 
bom in Enfield, Conn., and is a daughter of 
Horace B. Allen, of West Hartford, Conn. 
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Haskell has been 
brightened by the birth of an only son, Ethel- 
bert Allen Haskell. 

Mr. Haskell casts his vote with the Demo- 
cratic party, of which he has ever been a faith- 
ful adherent. In religion he is a liberal, and 
his wife is a communicant of the Congrega- 
tional church. During his lifelong residence 
in Enfield, by his faithful attendance to busi- 
ness and integrity in all his dealings Mr. 
Haskell has won the respect and esteem of his 
fellow-men, among whom he has many warm 
and valuable friends. 



-*-*•»-*— 




DDISON HOMER BARTLETT was 
born upon the farm at Belchertovvn 
where he now resides, February 15, 
1843, son of Cyrus Sabin and Emily (Steb- 
bins) Bartlett. His father, who was born at 
Stafford, Conn., May 6, 1814, was a son of 
Cyrus Bartlett, a native of the same place, 
born in 1778. 

Cyrus Bartlett owned and operated a saw 
and grist mill in his native town for some 
time before 18 16. He then moved to Belcher- 
town, settling upon the farm now owned by 
his grandson. Here he resided for the re- 
mainder of his days, and died at the age of 
seventy-nine years. The maiden name of his 
wife was Anna Sabin, a native of Ellington, 
Conn. (An account of Mrs. (Sabin) Bartlett's 
ancestors may be found in a work entitled, 
"The History of the Sabin Family.") She 
died at the age of ninety years, having raised 
a family of four children, named: Selden, 
Elvira, Cyrus S., and Louisa. Cyrus S. Bart- 
lett was two years of age when his parents 
moved to Belchertown. He received a good 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



s o[ 



education in the district schools and at the 
Monson and Hadley Academics. During his 
young manhood he taught school for several 
terms, also engaging in agriculture. At the 
death of his father he succeeded to the owner- 
ship of the farm, which he cultivated profitably 
for several years. In 1872 he sold the prop- 
erty to his son, purchased a home in the vil- 
lage, and there resided until his decease, 
which occurred February 25, 1888. The wife 
of Cyrus S. Bartlett, who was before her mar- 
riage Emily Stehbins, was born at Belcher- 
town, November 10, 18 14, daughter of Samuel 
Hinsdale and Nancy (Reed) Stebbins, and a 
direct descendant in the seventh generation of 
Rowland Stebbins. (An account of Mrs. Bart- 
lett's early ancestors is given in the "Annals 
of Belchertown," by the late Hon. Mark Doo- 
little.) She died December 17, 1S93, having 
been the mother of three children ; namely, 
Eliza, Addison, and Julia. She and her hus- 
band were devout members of the Congrega- 
tional church, and contributed generously 
toward its support. 

Addison H. Bartlett obtained the rudimen- 
tary branches of his education at the district 
schools. After completing his studies at the 
Wilbraham Academy he taught school for a 
time. His chief attention, however, was de- 
voted to agriculture, of which in due time he 
acquired a thorough knowledge. The family 
homestead is known as the "Cold Spring" 
farm, because it contains a never-failing 
spring of pure water. The town was origi- 
nally so named for the same reason. When 
the farm came into his possession in 1872, he- 
gave his whole time to its cultivation. The 
home is very desirably situated upon the west 
side of a hill, commanding an extensive view 
of the surrounding country. 

On November 18, 1868, he was united in 
marriage to Miss Violet Isabelle Bardwell, a 



native of Belchertown, daughter of Antipas 
Steward Bardwell, who was also born there. 
He was a son of Martin Bardwell, whose 
father, also named Martin, was a son of 
Joseph, through whose father, John, the de- 
scent goes back to Robert Bardwell, who came 
from London to Boston about the year 1670, 
and settled in Hatfield, Mass. Robert was a 
hatter by trade, and his son, John Bardwell, 
was one of the first settlers of Belchertown, 
having come about the year 1732. The farm 
upon which Mrs. Bartlett was born was the 
original property of the family in that town. 
Antipas Bardwell, who inherited a portion of 
the old homestead, purchased the interests of 
the other heirs and resided there until his 
decease, which occurred on April iS, 1877. 
The maiden name of Mrs. Bartlett's mother 
was Caroline C. Sikes. She was from Lud- 
low, and was a daughter of John and Dorothy 
(Kellogg) Sikes. She died February 4, 1879, 
having been the mother of seven children; 
namely, George S. , Alonzo J., Maria L. , 
Francis N., Violet I., Martin W., and 
Charles E. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett have five children liv- 
ing: Lizzie Maria, Marion Estella, Dwight 
Stebbins, Francis Alonzo, and Edward Payson. 
Their third child, Alice Isabelle, died August 
30, 1877, aged thirteen months; and their 
fourth child, Henry Addison, died May 11, 
18S8, at the age of ten years. The family 
attend the Congregational church, of which 
Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett and several of their 
children are members. Mr. Bartlett has been 
a Deacon of this church since 1882. 



IRAM G. HILL, one of the leading 

business men of Williamsburg, was 
born in that town, June 2 2, 1840, 
son of Otis and Philena (Packard) 1 1 ill. 




S 02 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Hill's great-grandfather, Samson Hill, 
came from Hatfield, Mass., to Williamsburg 
in 1775, and settled upon a tract of wild 
land. Besides serving his country in the 
Revolutionary War, he cleared and improved 
the farm upon which his descendant, J. O. 
Hill, now resides, and followed agriculture 
successfully until his death, which occurred 
at the age of eighty years. His son, Ephraim 
Hill, Mr. Hill's grandfather, succeeded to the 
property, which he increased by purchasing 
more land. He erected the present house and 
barn, and conducted the farm with energy, 
until failing health caused him to retire from 
active labor. He died in 1851, aged eighty- 
six years. His wife, who died in 1S49, 
eighty-three years old, was the mother of nine 
children, namely: Hiram, Russell, Willard, 
Calvin, Otis, Wealthy, Sarah, Cynthia, and 
Electa. 

Otis Hill, Mr. Hill's father, was born in 
Williamsburg, April 1, 1808. He made the 
best of his opportunities for obtaining an edu- 
cation at the district schools. After complet- 
ing his studies, he taught school for several 
terms in the neighborhood during the winter 
season, his summers being passed in different 
occupations, but principally in farming. In 
1838 he and his brother Hiram purchased the 
old mills in the village, and commenced 
manufacturing broom handles, later adding 
wooden boxes and buttons. In this business 
they were quite successful. Otis Hill pur- 
chased his brother's interest in 1853, but con- 
tinued the enterprise only two years longer, 
when the feeble state of his health compelled 
him to relinquish the cares of business. He 
sold out, and thereafter confined himself to 
agricultural pursuits, making a specialty of 
both pasturing and handling cattle. His par- 
ents passed their declining years with him 
upon the old farm, and were the objects of 



his most affectionate care and devotion. He 
was originally a Whig in politics, and joined 
the Republican party at its formation. He 
was a member of the Board of Selectmen for 
several years, Town Clerk, and Treasurer for 
twenty years; and in 1856 he represented his 
district in the legislature. As a business 
man he was both energetic and progressive, 
and as such was successful. He was kind- 
hearted and charitable, a steadfast friend and 
useful citizen. Otis Hill died December 7, 
1883. He was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church. His wife was the mother of 
five children; namely, Lemyra A., Melvin 
W., Hiram G., Henry W., and John W. 
She died at the age of fifty-three years. 

Hiram G. Hill commenced his education in 
the district schools of Williamsburg, and 
finished his studies in Amherst. He resided 
with his parents until he reached the age of 
twenty-one years. At this time he purchased 
the machinery and other mechanical effects of 
M. Way & Son, of Williamsburg, and began 
the manufacture of suspender buttons and 
moulds. In the autumn of 1861 he bought 
the factory of W. & W. E. Thayer, and after 
moving his machinery to his new quarters 
continued business upon a more extensive 
scale. He admitted his brother, John W., as 
a partner; and later another brother, Henry 
\Y., became interested in the enterprise. 
The firm, which was known as Hill Brothers, 
conducted a successful business until 1880, 
when Mr. Hiram G. Hill sold his interest to 
Damon & Wright. Owning the water-power 
and site formerly occupied by the old grist- 
mill, which was carried away by the flood 
of 1874, he erected a new mill there. The 
building stands upon the solid ledge that was 
laid bare by the flood, and contains the best 
improved machinery. Mr. Hill is engaged in 
grinding and dealing in all kinds of feed, 




ZAAVAN A. MOORE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5°S 



handling about one hundred carloads per 
year, and also does a large amount of custom 
grinding for others. He is the owner of the 
old homestead of his uncle, Hiram Hill, 
which escaped destruction during the flood, 
and was able to give the shelter sought there 
by man}- of the neighbors on that occasion, on 
account of the substantial manner in which it 
was built. He has improved the property, 
and has one of the most attractive and com- 
fortable homes in the town. 

Mr. Hill is chairman of the Board of Trus- 
tees of the Public Library. He was made a 
Mason in Jerusalem Lodge, later becoming a 
charter member of the Hampshire Lodge at 
Haydenville and a member of the Chapter 
and Commandery of Northampton. On De- 
cember 31, 1862, Mr. Hill was united in mar- 
riage to Charlotte M. Thayer, and has two 
daughters, namely: Genevra M., who resides 
at home: and Evalena, who married Albert 
Holton, and resides in Boston, having one 
son, named John Hill. Mr. Hill is indepen- 
dent in politics. 




[AAVAN AVERY MOORE, of North- 
ampton, who is now retired from 
active pursuits, has had a life of 
varied experience, and, notwithstanding that 
In- lias met with reverses, has accumulated 
enough of this world's goods to enable him 
to pass his declining years surrounded by all 
necessary comforts and in the enjoyment of 
as many pleasures as his feeble health will 
permit. He was born February 13, 182 1, in 
Hampden County, just across the line from 
Hampshire County, in the town of Westfield. 
His grandfather, Luke Moore, was for some 
years a resilient of that place, being engaged 
in tilling the soil. He died in middle life, 
leaving his widow, Lucretia Moore, with one 



son, Zaavan, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, and two daughters. Mrs. Moore was 
married again, reared a family of children 
by her second husband, and lived to a very 
advanced age. Although blind the last years 
of her life, she was a very cheerful and happy 
old lady, and the life and comfort of the 
household. 

Zaavan Moore was born about 1790 in Con- 
necticut; but, after attaining his majority, he 
bought a farm in Southampton, Mass., on 
which he engaged in mixed husbandry, living 
there until his decease, at the age of eighty- 
two years. In 181 5 he married Margaret 
Root, of Westfield Farms, where her birth 
occurred in 1788. She died in Westfield two 
years before her husband. Eight children 
were born to them, of whom four sons and 
three daughters grew to adult life; and of 
these two daughters and two of the sons are 
now living. Zaavan A. is further spoken of 
below. Luke Henry, born in [825, is mar- 
ried, and has two sons and several grandchil- 
dren. He was a soldier in the late Civil 
War, and subsequently settled on government 
land in Arkansas, where he carries on general 
farming. Margaret Arvilla is a widow living 
in Ohio. Electa Ann died in August, 1895, 
widow of Lysander B. Bates, of Westfield, 
who died, leaving her with a large family of 
children. Jane E. is the widow of Joseph 
Williams, of the same town. 

Zaavan A. Moore received an excellent 
academic education, and likewise a practical 
drill in agricultural labor on the parental 
homestead, where he remained until eighteen 
years old. Having a natural aptitude for 
mechanical pursuits, Mr. Moore then turned 
his attention to that branch of labor. Learn- 
ing the carpenter's trade of his brother-in-law, 
Lysander B. Bates, he worked for and with 
him thirty years, being in partnership with 



506 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



him a large part of the time. He afterward 
returned to the old home farm, which, with 
the outlands, consisted of about one hundred 
and fifty acres of land; and from the money 
which he had accumulated he bought out the 
remaining heirs, and thus acquired the estate. 
There he followed agriculture for some ten 
years, when he left the place to his father, 
and returned to his trade of cabinet-making. 
For some years his health has not permitted 
the active pursuit of business; and his time is 
spent mostly in Northampton, except the sum- 
mer season, when he usually goes to the sea- 
shore, to inhale the invigorating ocean breezes. 
Mr. Moore is a self-made man, having 
started out for himself even with the world ; 
and, notwithstanding that he has lost one fort- 
une, he still has ample to suffice him in all 
his needs, unless some unforeseen calamity 
should befall. He has travelled earth's jour- 
ney for many long years alone, with the 
exception of a few months' experience of mat- 
rimony in 1874, but has doubtless made many 
warm and lasting friendships. His life has 
been one of industry and perseverance, di- 
rected by good practical judgment, in business 
affairs meeting with general success. His 
portrait will be found in this gallery of rep- 
resentative citizens of men of Hampshire 
County. 



-•-»•»-»- 




born 
1833, 



ICHAEL P. LYNCH, a successful 
brick manufacturer and a Select- 
man of South Hadley Falls, was 
in County Kerry, Ireland, June 23, 
son of Patrick and Catherine (Ken- 
nedy) Lynch. Mr. Lynch's father, who at 
one time was a prosperous farmer in Ireland, 
emigrated to the United States in 1849, and 
after deciding to locate in South Hadley 
Falls sent for his wife and family to join 
him. But he died in September, 1849, before 



they reached America. His wife settled with 
her children in Holyoke, Mass., where she 
resided until her death, which occurred in 
March, 1892. The children numbered eleven, 
and were: John, who is a resident of Hol- 
yoke; Michael P., the subject of this sketch; 
Mary, Morris, and Thomas, who also reside in 
Holyoke; Patrick, Michael, Bridget, Timothy, 
Catherine, and Johanna, who are deceased. 

Michael P. Lynch received a common-school 
education. After arriving in Holyoke he 
worked in a cotton factory for some time. 
He then learned the trade of a bricklayer, and 
subsequently, in company with his brothers, 
managed a brickyard in Holyoke for several 
years. In 1877 he, together with his brothers 
Morris and Thomas, purchased the brickyard 
in which they are now located, and have since 
carried on the business with success. Mr. 
Lynch is independent in his political views, 
and always votes for the candidates he con- 
siders the most capable of holding office. He 
has been Road Commissioner, and is now 
serving his third term as Selectman, and is a 
member of the Hampshire Club. 

On January 25, 1861, Mr. Lynch was 
united in marriage to Catherine O'Donnell, a 
native of County Kerry, Ireland, daughter of 
Terrence O'Donnell, who died in Holyoke. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lynch have ten children, as 
follows: John, deceased; John F., who resides 
in South Hadley Falls; Margaret, deceased; 
Annie; Patrick; Rosa; Joseph; Morris, re- 
siding at home; and two children who died 
in infancy. The family attend the Roman 
Catholic Church in South Hadley Falls. 




RNEST W. REW, editor and proprietor 
of the Hampshire County Journal, is a 
native of England, born April 30, 
1864, in Northampton. His father, now liv- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5°7 



ing retired from business pursuits in London, 
England, was born at Tiverton, Devonshire, 
about the time of the birth of the Prince of 
Wales, and was long engaged in the wholesale 
silk trade. lie married for his first wife 
Josephine Bell, who died at the early age of 
twenty-two years, in [868, leaving three sons 
and one daughter, Ernest \Y being the eldest 
child. He subsequently married a widowed 
sister of his first wife, and she died in 1891, 
leaving two children In' her first marriage. 

Although young in years Ernest W. Rew 
has had a varied and eventful career. Leaving 
college at the age of fifteen years, he was 
apprenticed for three years to a wholesale 
grocer in Malvern, England, and after serving 
his time he remained still another year in 
Malvern. Going thence to Hereford he was 
1 ngaged in trade a year, and was afterward for 
the same length of time in the wholesale gro- 
cery business in London. Not satisfied with 
mercantile life, Mr. Rew next sought and 
obtained a place in the Royal Horse Artillery, 
which by the advice of his father he gave up, 
and passed a year or so at his father's home in 
Cheltenham, whence he went to France, where 
he travelled for a while. In the autumn of 
[883 Mr. Rew enlisted at Brighton, England, 
in the Royal Dragoon Guards, and was in 
active service three and one-half years, in the 
course of that time taking part in quelling the 
Belfast riot. Having been bought off by his 
father for nineteen pounds, he returned to Lon- 
don, and in January, i8S>S, sailed for New 
York City, having a hope of obtaining work 
on a New York paper. 

Failing in his purpose and running rather 
low in his funds, he next answered an advertise- 
ment for a stud groom on a large stock farm; 
and he there remained with a Mr. Akers until 
the following spring, when he again endeav- 
ored to secure a position in New York as a 



journalist and again failed. Finding the city 
overcrowded with idlers of all classes, Mr. 
Rew struck out into Connecticut, travelling on 
foot, and working at anything he could find to 
do to pay his way, whether it was chopping 
wood, digging potatoes, or husking corn, at 
which he was quite an expert. In one town 
he worked a few days for Mr. Herman Sellick, 
a member of the Board of Selectmen, who told 
him as he went away if he did not find a per- 
manent employment to come back and spend 
the winter ami do the chores about the place 
for his board and tobacco. He walked forty 
miles one day, being very vigorous, but did 
not secure the coveted position. Returning, 
therefore, to Farmer Sellick, he spent a pleas- 
ant winter, keeping busily employed about the 
farm. He also received money from home, 
and, becoming decently clothed, he joined the 
New Canaan choir, to which he had been in- 
vited, and in the spring was engaged by Mr. 
Sellick to work on the farm during the 
summer. 

But one hot day in July, while digging a 
ditch, he was offered a position as companion 
and reader to a wealth}' blind man, who was 
going to a sanitarium for his health. After 
a year in the sanitarium Mi". Rew again sought 
journalistic work in the city, and through a 
friend obtained work on Judd's paper, but was 
soon obliged to leave the office on account of 
malaria. Going thence with Emerson Judd to 
Greenwich, Mass., in hopes that the invigorat- 
ing upland breezes would restore his health, he- 
heard that the management of the Hampshire 
Weekly Gazette was about to start a daily 
paper, and came at once to Northampton to 
secure a position, in which he was successful, 
finding plenty of congenial work. Three years 
later he left that office to take charge of the 
Springfield Union, remaining there about a 
year, during which time he was a correspond 



5 o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ent of the Boston Globe and the Boston Jour- 
nal, besides which he contributed a weekly 
letter to the Hampshire County Journal, writ- 
ing under' the pen name of "Malvern." In 
May, 1894, Mr. Rew left the Springfield 
Union; and the next month he purchased from 
Wade & Daniels the paper which he has since 
managed so ably. This paper was established 
about thirty years ago by D. W. and H. H. 
Bund, and has been among the leading jour- 
nals of the county, and under the judicious 
management of its present proprietor has lost 
none of its former prestige, its circulation hav- 
ing been increased. Mr. Rew is an enthusias- 
tic and thorough master of his business, and in 
his aim to publish one of the brightest and 
best journals of this section of the State he 
has been eminently successful. 

On September 8, 1892, Mr. Rew was united 
in marriage with Miss Katherine Lord Clark, 
of Willimantic, Conn., daughter of David H. 
and Annie L. (Turner) Clark. Her father 
died in Denver, whither he had gone for his 
health, in 1887, at the age of fifty years. His 
widow, who is still living in Willimantic, has 
three children, Mrs. Rew and two sons, one in 
Willimantic and the other in Danielsonville. 
Mrs. Rew is an accomplished musician, and 
is well known in this vicinity and in New 
York as a phenomenal whistler, being able to 
imitate almost any member of the feathered 
tribe, her rendition of the notes of the mock- 
ing-bird being most natural and charming. 



fWjTc 



EORGE W. TINKER, a practical and 
\ [3 I successful agriculturist of Worthing- 
ton, Mass., who began in life as a 
poor boy, is now the owner of the well-stocked 
and highly cultivated farm of one hundred and 
forty-five acres on which he resides. He was 
born here, April 13, 1839, son of Omri and 



Salome (Crozier) Tinker, the former of whom 
was a native of Connecticut, from which place 
he came with his parents to Massachusetts. 

Omri Tinker was then a young man, and for 
several years he continued to live at the paren- 
tal home. When his father and mother moved 
to Rochester, Lorain County, Ohio, he re- 
mained behind and soon purchased the farm in 
Worthington on which his son now lives. 
The estate at that time contained one hundred 
and forty acres, but he later on purchased fifty 
acres additional. He was a hard-working and 
enterprising farmer; and besides performing 
his ordinary farm duties he was often em- 
ployed by others in laying stone walls, being 
an excellent workman in that line. He con- 
tinued to carry on his farm until his death on 
March 12, 1892, at the age of eighty-nine 
years and eleven months. His first wife, 
Salome Crozier, bore him four children, 
namely: George (deceased); Louisa (de- 
ceased) ; George ; and Mary, the wife of 
Charles Cole, who is now living in Hinsdale, 
Mass. Their mother died in 1S54. Mr. 
Tinker's second wife was Sarah Chapman, a 
native of Becket, Mass. Of this union one 
daughter was born : Ella, the wife of Lewis 
Walsh, a prosperous farmer residing in Pitts- 
field, Mass. In political affiliation Mr. Omri 
Tinker was a Republican, and an active worker 
for his party. He and his wife were commu- 
nicants of the Methodist Episcopal church, in 
which they were well known as faithful helpers. 

At twenty years of age George W. Tinker 
left the paternal roof to gain a livelihood for 
himself. He began by working out during the 
first year, after which he went to Chester, 
Mass., where during the succeeding six years 
he was successfully engaged in conducting 
a saw-mill. Buying a farm from Lawrence 
Smith he thenceforward profitably turned his 
attention to agricultural pursuits, having re- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5°9 



ceived good practical instruction therein dur- 
ing his boyhood and youth. He continued to 
carry on this place for fifteen years, and then 
purchased the old Tinker homestead, on which 
he has since resided. He is successfully en- 
gaged in general farming, raising for his prin- 
cipal products com, oats, and wheat: and he 
is also engaged to some extent in dairying. 
On his farm is a fine sugar orchard, which 
yields yearly from two to three thousand 
pounds of maple syrup and sugar of nice 
quality. 

He married Miss Mary Bidwell, who was 
born in Connecticut on February 17, 1854; 
and their union was blessed by the birth of 
four children, as follows: Harry, born Novem- 
ber 4. 1877; Lottie )., born November 9, 
1879; Charlie, who died in infancy; and 
.Agnes, born June 26, 1881. The children 
have received the advantages not only of the 
schools of Worthington, but have also attended 
school at Pittsfield, Mass. Mrs. Tinker died 
on July 20, 1890. Mr. Tinker has always 
been a stanch supporter of the Republican 
party. He is well known and universally 
liked by his associates. 




-XLl'H M. GUILFORD, owner of a 
arge livery and hack stable in North- 
ampton, is carrying on a thriving 
business, having by his courtesy and square 
methods of dealing won an extensive patron- 
age. He was born in the town of Conway, 
Franklin Count)-, in 1861, being the son of 
Walter Guilford, a lifelong resident of Con- 
way, whose birth occurred in 1S19, and his 
death in 1S72. 

Walter Guilford was the fifth child of a 
family of five sons ami one daughter. He was a 
hard-working man and an experienced tiller of 
the soil, owning and improving a good home- 



stead. He married Minerva Amsden, who 
was one of six children, five daughters and a 
son, bom to her parents, Ira and Minerva 
Amsden, of Conway. Of their union seven 
children were born, five of them being sons; 
and four are now living. Minerva is the wife 
of Frank H. Warren, of Boston: Ira is a 
horse dealer, with headquarters in this city, 
but spending much of his time in the West, 
buying horses for the Fastern markets: Arthur 
C. , proprietor of the Conway hotel, is a well- 
known and substantial farmer of that place, and 
superintendent of the electric railway company. 
Ralph M. Guilford lived at home until seven 
or eight years old, and from that time until he- 
was fifteen he attended school in Ashfield. 
Having early been left an orphan he was 
thrown somewhat upon his own resources; and 
being a great lover of horses and an able man- 
ager of them he secured the position of stage 
driver, running from Conway to South Deer- 
field. He being very small of his age, the pas- 
sengers were at times afraid that he would not 
be able to manage the four horses, but he was 
always equal to any emergency. Mr. Guilford 
was next employed as clerk in a Conway hotel, 
where he remained three years, when, at the 
age of nineteen years, he accepted a similar 
position in the Massassoit House at Spencer, 
continuing there a year. Coming then to 
Northampton, he and his brother Julius bought 
the livery stable of John Daniels, paying for 
it thirty-five hundred dollars, an investment 
which his friends prophesied would prove a 
disastrous failure, deeming it impossible that 
he could continue the business through the 
winter season, even if he made a living 
through the summer. This prediction has 
fortunately proved unfounded, as Mr. Guilford 
is still here, after thirteen years of activity, 
during which time he has had a steadily in- 
creasing trade, and is now recognized as the 



5 10 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



leading liveryman of the city, his urbanity and 
prompt attention to the wants of his customers 
winning deserved popularity. He has had 
different partners, his brother having sold out 
to his brother-in-law, F. H. Warren, and he 
in turn to Alfred W. Prouty, a brother of Mrs. 
Guilford. In 1893 Mr. Guilford purchased 
Mr. Prouty's interest, and has since conducted 
the livery stable himself. He keeps from 
twenty-five to thirty horses, and runs three 
hacks regularly to and from the stations. 

On Christmas Day, 1S81, Mr. Guilford was 
united in marriage with Mary E. Prouty, of 
whose companionship he was deprived in a few 
short years, her death occurring in March, 
1889, at the age of twenty-six years. She 
left one son, Walter R., now a fine boy of 
eleven years. On May 12, 1891, Mr. Guil- 
ford married Miss Susie Flagg, daughter of 
Mrs. Ellen (Donaldson) Flagg. Mrs. Guil- 
ford's mother, who, when quite young, was left 
a widow with two daughters, died in the winter 
of 1894, in the sixtieth year of her age. Prior 
to her marriage Mrs. Guilford was a popular 
and efficient saleswoman in McCullum's dry- 
goods store. In politics Mr. Guilford is 
guided by his own judgment, voting indepen- 
dent of party lines. He is connected with 
several fraternal organizations, being a Knight 
Templar, a charter member of the tribe of Red 
Men, and belonging to the Knights of Honor. 
His home at 31 Union Street he bought in 
1S87, and here he and his estimable wife 
entertain their numerous friends with a gener- 
ous hospitality. 



V A FAYETTE WASHINGTON GOOD 
ELL, of Belchertown, Mass., a 
widely known horticulturist resid- 
ing at Pansy Park, near Dwight, was born in 
this town, October 31, 1S51. His immediate 




ancestors were also natives of Belchertown, 
the birth of his father, Asahel Goodell, hav- 
ing occurred here on November 22, 1810. 
His remote ancestors on the paternal side are 
said to have belonged to a tribe of Celts living 
in the north of France, the tribal name being 
Goidel or Godele. 

About 1560 a family of Godeles, who were 
Huguenots, emigrated to England, where the 
name became Anglicized to Goodell. From 
this family sprung Robert Goodell (born in 
1604, died in 1692), who emigrated to Amer- 
ica in 1634, settling in Salem, Mass. One of 
his great-grandsons, John, born in 1703, went 
to Pomfret, Conn., where he raised a family of 
nine children. Nathaniel, son of John and 
great-grandfather of Lafayette W. , settled in 
Woodstock, Conn., but in 1777 purchased 
from his brother Lemuel a tract of one hun- 
dred acres of wild land situated in the north- 
ern part of Belchertown, now known as 
Dwight, to which he moved with his family in 
August of that year. He cleared and im- 
proved a farm, upon which he resided until his 
death in 1814. He raised a family of six 
children : Serrill, Esther, Nathaniel, Lucy, 
Alpheus, and Moses. 

Mr. Goodell's grandfather, Moses Goodell, 
succeeded to the possession of the homestead, 
which was his residence until his decease, in 
1854, at the age of seventy-seven years. His 
wife, whom he married on September 5, 1799, 
was Susannah Pettingill, of Methuen, Mass., 
and ten of her twelve children grew to matu- 
rity; namely, Ira Chaffee, Noble Thomas 
Ware, Marcus Lyon, Elizabeth Pettingill, 
Asahel, Esther Bliss, Dudley Nathaniel, 
Lovicy, Lusanna, and Newton Franklin 
Washington. 

Asahel Goodell was educated in the common 
schools, and succeeded to the possession of the 
farm at the decease of his father. In early 




L. W. GOODELL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



manhood he engaged in introducing a process 
for renovating clothing, of which he made a 
successful business for nearly thirty years, 
travelling throughout the Eastern States, be- 
coming well known as the "New England 
clothes dresser." In 1S33 he purchased a 
tract of land near the homestead, upon which 
he erected a dwelling-house. October 1, 1834, 
he was married to Cynthia Tilson Newell, 
daughter of Benjamin and Charlotte (Will- 
iams) Newell, of Pelham, Mass., her mother 
being a descendant of the famous Roger Will- 
iams. Five of their eight children lived to 
reach maturity, namely : Ellen Hemans, who 
is the subject of a special sketch in this vol- 
ume ; Jerome Homer; Celeste Martineau ; 
Wesley Melancthon ; and Lafayette Washing- 
ton. Asahel Goodell was one of the three 
original antislavery men in his native town, 
and was prominently identified with political 
and other public affairs. He served as a Jus- 
tice of the Peace and also acted as correspond- 
ent for various newspapers. 

Lafayette W. Goodell received a good com- 
mon-school education, and several years before 
attaining his majority was entrusted with the 
management of the farm, which for twenty 
years prior to that time had been leased to 
tenants and was badly run down. In 1876 he 
rented some land on the place, and on a capital 
of twenty-five dollars engaged in the retail 
seed business, of which he has made a marked 
success. From less than two hundred cus- 
tomers the first year, the number has increased 
to over sixty thousand. He erected new build- 
ings and made many other improvements, 
transforming what was one of the most un- 
sightly places in town into one of the most 
attractive. In 18S5 he purchased two adjoin- 
ing estates, on which he built in 189] two 
large greenhouses, and added a plant depart- 
ment to the business. The seeds and plants, 



which are sold through the agency of annual 
catalogues, are distributed by mail and express 
to all parts of the country ; in fact, his books 
contain the names of customers in almost every 
country on the globe. 

In 1S91 he purchased the old farm and the 
homestead, and now owns some three hundred 
acres, much of which is woodland. The im- 
proved portion, known as Pansy Park, is de- 
lightfully situated and beautifully laid out. 
During the summer season the grounds arc- 
covered with thousands of varieties of flowers 
and plants, making a gorgeous display. 
Many of these are grown for their seeds, 
among others large quantities of pansies, 
which thrive luxuriantly and afford an appro- 
priate name for the estate. A notable and at- 
tractive feature is the aquatic garden, covering 
several acres and containing one of the largest 
collections of water-growing plants in the 
United States, including several varieties of 
the sacred Egyptian lotus and about forty va- 
rieties of water lilies of various colors from all 
parts of the world. In the summer of 1890 
Mr. Goodell succeeded in flowering in the 
open air, without artificial heat, the famous 
Victoria regia from the river .Amazon, the 
largest water lib' known, the leaves of which 
measure from four to six feet in diameter — the 
first time this was ever accomplished in the 
northern States. He has made a special study 
of this branch of floriculture; and the benefit 
of his knowledge will soon be given to the 
public in an illustrated hook, now in prepara- 
tion, entitled "Aquatic Plants and their Cult- 
ure," which is destined to he a standard work 
upon the subject. 

Mr. Goodell has been lor twenty years a fre- 
quent contributor to horticultural papers, and 
is a recognized authority on matters relating to 
this branch of industry, in which by his energy 
and perseverance he has gained an enviable 



5 I: 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




reputation. The result of his studies and dis- 
coveries in entomology, of which he is an 
enthusiastic student, have been published in 
magazines, proceedings of scientific societies, 
and United States government publications. 
Mr. Goodell is an exceedingly courteous 
gentleman to meet. He is a Republican in 

politics. 

— ,-•■.. — 

"ON. DANIEL BATES GILLETT, 
whose portrait is herewith presented, 

i 9 V» j is a retired business man of Enfield, 

Mass., and ex-member of the State Senate. 
He was born in South Hadley, July 21, 1819, 
son of Daniel and Edith (Hates) Gillett. Mr. 
Gillett is a descendant of Cornelius Gillett, 
who emigrated from England to Dorchester, 
Mass., in 1635, and in 1636 settled in Wind- 
sor, Conn., where he passed the remainder of 
his life. He married Priscilla Kelsey, and 
raised a family of nine children. Daniel Gil- 
lett, Mr. Gillett's grandfather, a prosperous 
farmer of Windsor, was a soldier of the Revo- 
lutionary War; and at the close of that strug- 
gle he resumed farming in Windsor, where he 
died at the age of eighty-nine years. On 
November 2, 1769, he married Amy Palmer, 
and became the father of five children, his 
namesake, Daniel, Mr. Gillett's father, being 
the eldest son. His second wife, whom he 
married February 15, 17S9, was Alithina 
Gratia Rowland. 

Daniel Gillett, son of Daniel and Amy 
(Palmer) Gillett, was born in Windsor, Conn., 
September 25, 1781. He was engaged in 
mercantile pursuits during the greater part of 
his active life, and was conducting trade in 
Granville, Mass., in 181 2. He subsequently 
moved to South Hadley Falls, where he en- 
tered into partnership with Ariel Cooley; and 
the firm of Gillett & Cooley was the leading 
mercantile concern in that town for many 



years. They ran a line of boats to Hartford, 
which proved a profitable investment; and 
they also owned and conducted a flax-seed oil- 
mill. The firm continued until the death of 
Mr. Cooley, after which the enterprise was 
carried on alone by Mr. Daniel Gillett until 
his death, which occurred January 15, 1824. 
He was a stanch patriot, an able business man, 
and a useful citizen. His wife, Edith Bates, 
whom he married November 20, 1806, was born 
in Granville, Mass., May 1, 1781, daughter 
of Colonel Jacob Bates, and sister of the 
Hon. Isaac C. Bates, of Northampton. Colonel 
Bates served seven years in the Revolutionary 
War, and was with Washington at the memo- 
rable crossing of the Delaware in the winter 
of 1776. Mrs. Edith Bates Gillett became 
the mother of seven children, two of whom are 
now living, namely: Edward, who resides in 
Westfield, Mass. ; and Daniel Bates, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, who is the youngest. The 
deceased were: Catherine; Elizabeth; Mary 
Ann; Daniel, first; and Edith. The mother 
died August 5, 1853. 

Daniel Bates Gillett grew to manhood in 
South Hadley, and received his education in 
the Woodbridge School and at the Hopkins 
Academy in Hadley. After completing his 
studies he went to Hartford, Conn., and se- 
cured a position in the store of Daniel Buck & 
Co., with whom he remained for two years. 
He then went to Amherst, Mass., where he 
was engaged as a clerk in the store of Sweetzer 
& Cutler for two years, at the expiration of 
which time he formed a partnership with a Mr. 
Ingraham and engaged in business in South 
Hadley Falls. This firm carried on trade suc- 
cessfully for three years, a greater part of 
which time Mr. Gillett served as Postmaster. 
In 1846 he moved to Enfield, where, in com- 
pany with Woods Brothers, he engaged in the 
woollen manufacture, conducting a large and 




DANIEL B. GILLETT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



profitable business for more than forty years, 
making a specialty of producing cotton warp 
goods, which were extensively sold throughout 
the country. The business averaged one hun- 
dred thousand dollars per year, and employed a 
Imce of fifty skilful workmen. In i 890 Mr. (iil- 
lett practically retired from active pursuits, but 
is still financially interested with J. W. Flint 
in conducting a large lumber business, and is 
still owner personally of the village grist-mill. 

On May 6, 1S45, Daniel B. Gillett was 
united in marriage to Charlotte Woods, daugh- 
ter of Leonard Woods, of Enfield. Mrs. Char- 
lotte W. Gillett died August 20, 1856, 
leaving two children, as follows: Daniel 
Bates, Jr., who was born May 5, 1846, and is 
now an expert mining engineer on the Pacific 
Coast; and Rufus W., born August 18, 1849, 
who is now a physician in Danville, 111. 
Daniel B. Gillett, Jr., married Anna S. Carr, 
and has two children, namely: Charlotte 
E. W., born December 5, 1S68; and Bur- 
roughs E. C, born in April, 1870. Rufus 
W. Gillett married Alice Wilkinson and has 
two children: Daniel W. , born October 28, 
[882; and Rufus W., Jr., born July 11, 1892. 
( >n September 25, 1858, Mr. Daniel B. Gil- 
lett married for his second wife Persis L. 
Winslow, sister of Dr. J. W. Winslow, of 
Easthampton. She died March 20, 1S80. 

Mr. Gillett is one of the oldest residents of 
Enfield. He has been an active and energetic 
business man, and is now enjoying a well- 
earned retirement. His homestead, which 
consists of twenty-five acres, is delightfully 
situated upon an elevation of one hundred feet 
above Swift River at the foot of Mount Quab- 
bin, and is surrounded by the beautiful moun- 
tain scenery of Western Massachusetts. The 
valley is supposed to have been a favorite hunt- 
ing-ground of the Indians, and many relics are 
found there. Mr. Gillett has in his possession 



a large number of these, and he also has sev- 
eral letters written hv his grandfather during 
the Revolutionary War. He is an exceedingly 
pleasant gentleman to meet and a general fa- 
vorite with his fellow townsmen. He has been 
a member of the Congregational church since 
early manhood. He was formerly a Whig in 
politics, but later joined the Republican party, 
and served as a Selectman and in other town 
offices for several years, one of which he was 
Postmaster. He was County Commissioner 
for two years, and in 1865 and 1866 he was a 
member of the State Senate from the district 
which included Hampshire and Franklin Coun- 
ties. He is a member of Bethel Lodge, A. F. 
& A. M., of Enfield, and also High Priest in 
King Solomon Royal Arch Chapter, now re- 
moved to Warren, Mass. 



AMES GRANGER, one of the oldest 
and best known of the many enterpris- 
ing agriculturists of Middlefield, Hamp- 
shire County, Mass., was bom in Sidney, Del- 
aware County, N.Y., on November 3, 1822. 

His father, Henry Granger, was a native of 
Connecticut. He removed in middle life to 
the State of New York, where he spent his 
last years, engaging in the vocation of a 
farmer, which he followed with good results. 
He married Miss Sophia Greisley, who was 
also born in Connecticut, and their union was 
blessed by the birth of ten children, seven sons 
and three daughters; namely, Henry (de- 
ceased), Edward, Maria, James, Norman (de- 
ceased), Daniel, Reuben (deceased), Eliza, 
Dennis, and Clara. Their parents were not in 
affluent circumstances, and therefore the chil- 
dern received hut meagre educational advan- 
tages, though a part were self-educated. The 
father was a Whig. He died April 6, 1836, 
and his wife in I X~j. 



5'6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



James Granger, who was only about fourteen 
years of age when his father died, was put out 
during the remainder of his minority with 
Ezra Smith, a farmer, with whom he came to 
Middlefield, Mass., in 1S42. After being 
employed for about six years in working out 
by the month in different places he purchased 
the farm on which he now resides. It contains 
one hundred acres of pasturage and of tillable 
land, which is kept in a good state of cultiva- 
tion and yields profitable returns. He also 
engages to a moderate extent in stock growing. 

Mr. Granger was married in the fall of 1846 
to Miss Lucy Damon; a daughter of John and 
Armena (Combs) Damon, the former of whom 
was a native of Middlefield, Mass., and the 
latter of the town of Chester. Eight children 
came to brighten their home, as follows: 
Francis Henry, who married Miss Rebecca 
Smart, and now resides in Chester, Mass. ; 
Mary Jane, living in Huntington, Mass. ; Ed- 
ward and Edwin, who are twins, the latter of 
whom married Miss Ellen Dye and resides at 
Unadilla Forks, N. Y. , and the former married 
Miss Ellen Spooner and settled in Barre, 
.Mass. ; Almon, who lived only to the age of 
nineteen years; Lucy Maria, who died at 
seventeen years of age; James Edson, who 
died in his fifteenth year; and George, when 
but ten years of age. They were all educated 
in the common schools. Their mother, who 
was a highly intelligent woman, died on No- 
vember 6, 1 86 1. 

On December 13, 1867, Mr. Granger formed 
a second marriage with Mrs. Nancy A. Alvord, 
a woman of superior worth, born June 15, 
1828, in West Springfield, Mass. Mr. 
Granger is a stanch Republican and has always 
been a faithful supporter of that party. He 
has served as Road Commissioner for several 
years, and he and his wife are communicants 
of the Baptist church. 




NSEL WRIGHT, a native resident of 
Northampton, Mass., and Deputy 
Sheriff of Hampshire County, was 
born on November 29, 1832. He is a descend- 
ant of one of the earliest settlers of the town, 
Samuel Wright, who came from England in 
1654, and located on land now included in 
Bridge Street. 

Asahel Wright, the paternal grandfather 
of Ansel Wright, was a lifelong resident of 
Northampton, dying at a ripe old age in 1833. 
He was a well-known citizen and a veteran of 
the Revolution, having served bravely in va- 
rious battles. His wife, Rachel Searle, of 
Southampton, died in 1 831. Three children 
were born to them, namely: one son, who died 
when nine years of age; a daughter Anna; and 
a son, Ansel, Sr. Anna Wright married 
Deacon E. S. Phelps, who was subsequently 
one of the pioneer settlers of Princeton, 111., 
and became quite prominent in the public and 
business life of the town. 

Ansel Wright, Sr. , who was born in North- ' 
ampton in 1797, carried on a successful gro- 
cery business in company with Theodore Rust 
for twenty-five years. This partnership was 
succeeded by one entered into with his son, 
George F. Wright, in the same profitable busi- 
ness, and continued from I S48 till 1S57, the 
firm name being A. Wright & Son. The 
father was Deputy Sheriff for thirty-seven 
years preceding his death, which occurred 
February 19, 1S72. He married on June 1, 
1825, lilizabeth Boleyn, who was bom in 
1803, in Enfield, Conn., of English origin, 
a daughter of Elijah and Electa (Pease) 
Boleyn, and died September 10, 184S. They 
were the parents of nine children. Four of 
these, Asahel, Asahel (second), Henry, and 
Harriet, died under six years of age. Eliza- 
beth died at the age of nine years. 

Of the rest, George F. , who died in 1865, 



BIOGRAPHICAL R EV I EW 



5i7 



aged thirty-nine years, for nearly nineteen 
years of his life served as Deputy Sheriff, hav- 
ing been appointed the day he was twenty-one 
years old, and was also Collector of Internal 
Revenue from 1 862 to his death. lie left a 
daughter, who married Lewis T. Hall, of Chi- 
cago, and a son, George I'"., Jr., who resides 
with his mother in Chicago. Chauncey 
Wright, who graduated from Harvard College 
in the class of 1S52, was an eminent scientist; 
he died in 1875, aged forty-five years, leaving 
valuable writings, which have been compiled 
and published, together with a sketch of his 
life, by Professor J. B. Thayer, of Cambridge. 
He was an instructor under Professor Agassiz, 
and was engaged by the government to prepare 
with Professor Runkle the Nautical Almanac. 
Frederick C. Wright enlisted as a private in 
the Tenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 
was promoted within three months to the rank 
of Lieutenant in the Twenty-seventh Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry, was wounded at 
the battle of Cold Harbor, June 4, 1864, and 
died in Washington from his injuries twenty- 
three days later, June 27, aged twenty-five 
years. His body was brought home for inter- 
ment in the beautiful resting-place for the 
dead in Northampton. 

Ansel Wright, Jr., subject of this sketch, 
was the fourth child and the third son of the 
family. In 1857 he became a member of the 
firm of G. F. Wright & Co., and for many 
years was prominent in the grocery trade of this 
city. He has also been an extensive dealer in 
ice, having continued until 1891 as owner and 
manager of the business commenced by his 
father in 1842, and which is now incorporated 
as the Norwood Ice Company. 

On November 22, 1858, Mr. Wright was 
united in marriage with Sarah L. Fitts, a 
daughter of Robert and Lucy (Bangs) Fitts, of 
this town. Mrs. Wright has two sisters : Mrs. 



Mary Nutting, of [ndianola, la. ; and Mrs. 
Hannah P. Wright, widow of George F. , of 
Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have had four 
children, one of whom, Sadie IP, died in 
[881, aged fifteen years. The others are as 
follows: Elizabeth P., wife of A. F. Hatch, 
an attorney of Chicago; Frederick W., a com- 
mercial traveller for the William Skinner 
Manufacturing Company, residing in New 
York; and Lucy 1'"., wife of Dana Pearson, of 
this town, and the mother of two daughters, 
Dorothy and Elizabeth. 

Mr. Wright is one of the active business 
men of this part of the county who take an ear- 
nest interest in public affairs. By the honest 
and efficient discharge of his duties as Deputy 
Sheriff (having held that office for nearly 
thirty years), and in other positions of respon- 
sibility, he has gained the respect and con- 
fidence of his fellow - citizens. He was 
Collector of Internal Revenue from 1865 till 
1869, Constable of the town and city for thirty 
years, engineer of the fire department five 
years, and for twelve years coroner. He is 
Vice-President and one of the Trustees of the 
Hampshire Savings Bank, and a Director in 
the Hampshire Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany. Mr. Wright has also served for sixteen 
years as President and Treasurer of the North- 
ampton Dyke Company. He has taken the 
thirty-second degree in Masonry, is a Knight 
Templar, and has been Treasurer of the Com- 
mandery and the Chapter. His brother 
George was also prominent in the Masonic 
order, being Master of Jerusalem Lodge. 



"f^TLNRY S. GERE, proprietor and pub- 
f^i lisher of the Hampshire Gazette, a 

J-^ 9 ^ , prominent citizen of Northampton 

and a man of wide-spread influence, was born 
in Williamsburg, Mass., April 30, 1828, son 



5" 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of Edward and Arabella (Williams) Gere. 
His paternal grandfather, Isaac Gere, whose 
parents were Nathan and Jerusha Gere, was 
born in Preston, Conn., December 6, 1771, and 
died in Northampton, Mass., September 24, 
181 2. He was a jeweller by trade, and in 
1800 he erected directly opposite the Old 
Church the first brick store built in North- 
ampton. He was first married on March 1, 
1798, to Jemima, daughter of Enos and Abi- 
gail Kingsley, of Northampton, and by this 
union had three children, as follows: Edward, 
who was born at Northampton, Mass., Decem- 
ber 19, 1798; Lucy, born September 11, 
1800, died in infancy; Isaac, Jr., who was 
born February 3, 1S03, and died in Oxford, 
Ohio, in 1S51, whither he had gone in 1838. 
Isaac Gere, Jr., was a man well known in 
Williamsburg, Mass., where he was engaged 
as a merchant and woollen manufacturer, and 
served as Selectman and member of the legis- 
lature. He left two sons and daughters. For 
his second wife Isaac Gere, Sr. , married Lucy 
Ware, by whom he had two sons, Frederick 
and William, and one daughter, Lucy, who 
married Dr. Brown, and died in Ohio at an 
advanced age. 

Edward Gere, father of Henry S., was a 
graduate of Yale College, but on account of 
impaired health gave up his contemplated pro- 
fessional career and settled on his farm in the 
northerly part of Williamsburg. He took an 
active interest in public affairs, and at the 
time of his death held the office of Selectman. 
He was a prominent member of the Methodist 
church and one of the most respected citizens 
of the town. He was married on October 14, 
1824, to Arabella Williams, daughter of Gross 
Williams, of Williamsburg, Mass. She was 
born January 6, 1805, and died at Williams- 
burg, March 5, 1893. Their three children 
were: Edward W., born April 8, 1826, who 



died in Leamington, England, on the day of 
his mother's death here; Henry S., of North- 
ampton; and Collins, born November 25, 
1830, who died at Southampton, April 22, 
1882. Edward W. and Collins were manu- 
facturers of brass goods, of the firm of Hay- 
den, Gere & Co., having their headquarters in 
New York City and their factory at Hayden- 
ville in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. 
Edward Gere, the father, died September 24, 
1832, in Williamsburg, where both. he and his 
wife are buried. 

Henry S. Gere acquired a good practical 
education in the public schools of Williams- 
burg and at Wilbraham Academy and Willis- 
ton Seminary. His business career began at 
the age of seventeen, when on March 5, 1845, 
he became the printer's "devil " in the office 
of the Hampshire Herald in Northampton. 
This was the first abolition paper in Western 
Massachusetts, and had but recently been 
started. In 1847 young Gere rose to the posi- 
tion of editor. About a year later the Hamp- 
shire Herald was merged into the Northampton 
Courier, previously a Whig organ ; and it was 
published by Mr. Gere, who had now become 
its owner, as a Free Soil paper for nearly ten 
years. In November, 1858, the Courier and 
the Gazette were united under the name of the 
Hampshire Gazette, which became the leading 
Republican paper of the count) - . Since that 
time the paper has been published on Gothic 
Street, in the building purchased by the owners 
of the Gazette over thirty years ago. The Ga- 
zette is now in its one hundred and tenth year. 

In 1862 Mr. Gere enlisted in the Fifty-sec- 
ond Massachusetts Infantry, Company C, as a 
private, and was in the Banks expedition to 
Louisiana. While in rendezvous at Baton 
Rouge, previous to the attack of Port Hudson, 
he was appointed Postmaster by General 
Grover, and held that office until the expira- 




A. J. N. WARD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5" 



tion lit his term of service. Soon after the 
regiment returned, its members formed an asso- 
ciation, of which Mr. Gere was chosen secre- 
tary and treasurer, which position he still 
holds. He was married August 22, 1^49, to 
Martha, daughter of Simeon P. and Dorcas 
(Clapp) Clark, of Easthampton. They buried 
one child, Frederick, at the age of six years. 
Their living children are: George S., a 
printer; Collins II. and Edward C. , hnth asso- 
ciate editors and partners with their father; 
Mary K., a graduate of Smith College, and at 
the present time a teacher in the Western Fe- 
male College in Oxford, Ohio; William H., 
a reporter on the Hampshire Gazette; and 
Martha F., a young lad}- residing at home. 
In politics Mr. Gere is an unswerving Re- 
publican and an ardent advocate of the princi- 
ples of his party. In November, 1858, he was 
chosen Treasurer of the County of Hampshire, 
in which capacity he served from January 1, 
1859, to January 1, 1877, a period of eighteen 
years. He served as chairman of the Repub- 
lican County Committee twenty-five years, for 
six years was on the general School Commit- 
tee, is one of the Trustees of the Northampton 
Institution fur Savings, and has held various 
other positions of trust and responsibility. In 
[890 the honorary degree of Master of Arts 
was conferred upon him by Amherst College. 
He and his family reside at 75 High Street, 
where in 18S8 he erected his fine residence. 
The location is picturesque and commands a 
splendid view of the fair landscape stretching- 
over the beautiful meadows to Mounts Holyoke 
and Tom in the distance. 



RTHUR J. N. WARD, an enterpris- 
ing lumberman and manufacturer of 
Enfield, Mass., was born in this 
town, June 11, 1849, son of Benjamin and 




Elizabeth W. (Hanks) Ward. The Ward fam- 
ily has been a prominent one in England for 
several centuries. Some of its early progeni- 
tors accompanied William the Conqueror from 
Normandy, and William de la Ward resided in 
Chester in 11 75. The original ancestor in 
America was William Ward, who emigrated 
from Derbyshire in 1639, and from whom 
Arthur J. N. Ward is directly descended. 
Ebenezer Ward, Mr. Ward's grandfather, was 
born July 19, 1775; and he became an early 
settler in Belchertown, Mass. He followed 
agricultural pursuits with prosperous results 
during the active period of his life, and died 
in Belchertown at an advanced age. He and 
his wife, Rebecca Randall Ward, raised a fam- 
ily ot eleven children, of whom Benjamin, Mr. 
Ward's father, was the eighth. All have now 
passed away. 

Benjamin Ward was born in Belchertown in 
1809. He learned the trade of a millwright, 
and in 1830 settled in Enfield, where he fol- 
lowed that occupation for some years. He 
later built a saw-mill, which he operated suc- 
cessfully for many years, becoming well and 
favorably known throughout this region. He 
was a sturdy, industrious citizen and an able 
business man, liberal in his religious views; 
and, like the majority of the old Whig ele- 
ment, he joined the Republican party at its 
formation. He died in Enfield, July 14, 
[888. His wife, Elizabeth W. Hanks, who 
was born in Enfield in [8l2, became the 
mother of two children, namely: Benjamin 
H., who was born July 25, 1N44, and was 
accidentally killed in the saw-mill, May 10, 
1861 ; and Arthur J. N. , the subject of this 
sketch. The mother died October 8, 1884. 

Arthur J. N. Ward was educated in the 
schools of his native town, anil from an early 
age he has been engaged in the manufacturing 
of lumber. He entered into partnership with 



S 22 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Cyrus F. Woods, and this firm has since been 
identified with the lumbering interests of En- 
field. They cut, haul, and manufacture all 
kinds of native lumber, and operate two mills, 
which are equipped with improved machinery. 
They have handled as high as two million feet 
per annum, and they own about four hundred 
and eighty-four acres of timber land, from 
which they obtain their logs. Mr. Ward owns 
the old homestead of sixty-seven acres, where 
he resides; and this he conducts with good 
results. In politics he is a Republican, and 
is quite prominent in local public affairs. He 
has been a member of the Board of Selectmen 
for several years past, is also an Assessor, and 
is at the present time chairman of the Repub- 
lican Town Committee. 

Mr. Ward has been twice married. His 
first wife, Emma L. Witherell, whom he- 
wedded September 20, 1 87 1 , died January 6, 

1894, leaving no children. On January 16, 

1895, he married for his second wife Lucy E. 
Fairbanks, a native of Ware, Mass. Mr. 
Ward is an enterprising and progressive busi- 
ness man and a highly esteemed citizen, who 
has contributed much toward the development 
of the natural resources of his native town. 

A portrait of this representative citizen 
appears on a neighboring page. 



Tj^NEV. HENRY LUTHER EDWARDS, 
\i\ of Northampton, Mass., is a native of 

-I- 5 V,_ ^ Hampshire County. He was born 
January 24, 1822, in Southampton, where his 
progenitors had dwelt for several generations. 
The name of Edwards has long been one of 
the must widely known and honored in West- 
ern Massachusetts. The family, including 
the Jonathan Edwards branch, originated in 
Wales, Alexander Edwards, the emigrant an- 
or of the branch under consideration, com- 



ing thence in 1640 to Springfield, Mass, 
where he remained till 1655, a cultivator of 
the soil, like most others. 

He then removed to Northampton, being 
attracted by the fertility of the bottom lands 
of the Connecticut River known as "The 
Meadows," and here, too, engaged in farming 
until his decease, September 4, 1690. He 
married the widow of John Searle, Mrs. Mary 
Baldwin Searle. She had a son, John Searle, 
Jr., who came with his step-father, Alexander 
Edwards, to Northampton, and became a well- 
to-do farmer. A half-century later John 
Searle, third, was killed by Indians with nine- 
teen others at the foot of Mount Tom ; and 
twenty years after that, in 1724, Nathaniel 
Edwards met his death in like manner. Na- 
thaniel Searle, grandson of John, second, was 
one of the more prosperous and influential of 
the pioneer settlers of Southampton. He 
seems to have been the principal man in eccle- 
siastical affairs, securing and entertaining the 
ministers on every occasion, Jonathan Edwards 
among others. 

Samuel Edwards, a son of Alexander and 
Mary B. S. Edwards, was born March 7, 1643, 
in Springfield, and died April 13, 171 2, in 
Northampton. His son Samuel, the next in 
line of descent, was born March 26, 1676, and 
died March 8, 1749. He was twice married, 
his wives, whose names were Pomeroy, having 
been sisters ; and among his descendants that 
became noted were the Rev. Dr. Justin Ed- 
wards and Professor Bela B. Edwards, men of 
exalted character and ability, and among the 
more renowned divines in New England. 
Samuel Edwards, the third of that name, was 
born in Northampton, September 12, 1716, 
removed to Southampton in 1753, and died 
there in 1 790. His wife, Catherine Clark, 
was a woman of superior character and intelli- 
gence. She was a daughter of Deacon John 



WOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



523 



Clark, of Northampton, and lineally descended 
from Lieutenant William Clark, who emi- 
grated from England soon after the departure 
of the Pilgrims, and was known in Northamp- 
ton as "the Most Worshipful William Clark." 

In Southampton, Samuel Edwards, third, 
became very prominent in local affairs, having 
been long Town Clerk and Town Treasurer 
and a Deacon in the church. For upward of 
forty years he was engaged in teaching in 
Northampton and Southampton during the 
winter seasons; and the old arm-chair used by 
him in the school-room is now finely cushioned 
and highly prized, being owned by Caroline 
Edwards, of Southampton, a descendant, and a 
cousin of the gentleman to whom this sketch is 
due. This Samuel Edwards had four daugh- 
ters and three sons — Samuel, Luther, and 
Elisha. The first settled in Westhampton, 
the others in Southampton, all being leading 
citizens. 

Luther was born in 1756 and died in 1834. 
He was known as Ensign, and served briefly in 
the war of the Revolution, as did also his 
brother Elisha. He inherited some three hun- 
dred acres of his father's one thousand. He 
was a thoughtful man, thrift)' in his business 
and highly esteemed, representing his town in 
a Constitutional Convention, and being a mem- 
ber repeatedly of the General Court. He was 
twice married. His first wife, Sarah Sheldon, 
died in middle life, leaving five children: 
Asenath, Ralph, Sarah, Luther, and Atossa. 
His second wife was Clarissa Judd, the mother 
of Clarissa and Electa Edwards, and the daugh- 
ter of the Rev. Jonathan Judd, who was the 
first minister settled in Southampton, a pastor of 
the Congregational church there for forty years. 

Luther Edwards, second, was born in South- 
ampton, December 16, 1792, and died there 
September 12, 1863. He was loyal to his 
town, giving hundreds of dollars to the acad- 



emy and the canal, and bequeathing a town 
clock in his will. lie was one of the substan- 
tial agriculturists of his native place, inherit- 
ing a farm of some two hundred acres, one 
hundred or more of woodland, also a distillery 
which was very profitable, but was early aban- 
doned for example's sake. He was active and 
of quick discernment, well-read and intelli- 
gent, and served acceptably in town and county 
offices, in the legislature, as Selectman, 
County Commissioner, etc. He was a student 
of the Bible, especially fond of history, had a 
fine memory, and began a classical course, 
which was interrupted by ill health. He was 
united in marriage with Rachel Searle, of 
Chester, Mass., daughter of Zenas and Rachel 
(Bates) Searle. Luther and Rachel (Searle) 
Edwards lost two daughters in infancy, and two 
in young and very promising maidenhood — 
Catherine Louisa dying in 1845, aged twenty- 
three years ; and Sarah Marietta in 1843, aged 
seventeen years. Another daughter, Susan 
Sophia, has just deceased, April 10, 1895, 
aged sixty-two. She was active, but modest 
and unassuming, known for her kind and sym- 
pathetic nature and her deeds of love and 
beneficence. More than a tenth of her means 
she left to various charities, four hundred dol- 
lars to the Congregational church in South- 
ampton. She occupied the old home during 
her life, and made a happy meeting-place for 
the relatives. Rachel Corinthia, one of the 
six daughters, survives. She is the widow of 
Isaac Parsons, who was the son of Theodore 
and the grandson of the first Isaac, who mar- 
ried her grandmother. Mrs. Rachel S. Ed- 
wards survived her husband twenty - seven 
years, dying January 28, 1890, at the vener- 
able age of ninety-six years, having retained 
to a remarkable degree her mental and physi- 
cal vigor, and receiving to the last the tireless 
care of her daughter Susan. 



5-4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Henry Luther Edwards was reared on the 
old farm until eighteen. He fitted for college 
at Sheldon Academy and Williston Seminary, 
and was graduated at Amherst College in 
1847, standing second in his class. Previous 
to entering college Mr. Edwards had taught 
town schools in Southampton two winters, and 
while a student he taught for two winters in 
the Sheldon Academy. After his graduation 
he was an instructor for a term in the new 
Williston Seminary. He was urged to con- 
tinue there, but he had the study of theology 
in view and repaired to Andover Theological 
Seminary. He left Andover, however, in 
1849, to accept a tutorship in Amherst Col- 
lege, where he taught the classics three years. 
While a student at Amherst he was leader of 
the college choir. Afterward at Easthampton 
and Andover he had classes in vocal music. 
In 1853 and 1854 he was an instructor in 
Northampton Classical Institute. While here 
he was offered the principalship of the New 
Conway Academy, then contemplated, a posi- 
tion having before been tendered him in Pitts- 
field Ladies' Institute. 

But having been licensed in 1850, and hav- 
ing while teaching supplied pulpits in many 
churches, he accepted instead a call from 
Abington, Mass., now Whitman, where he 
ministered to a large and growing church for 
twelve years. His health becoming much 
impaired, he spent nearly a year in rest and 
travel, including a winter in Washington. 
He had had cordial overtures from Leicester, 
Middleboro, Fair Haven, Conn., and Manches- 
ter, N.H., but in 1868 accepted a much 
smaller parish in North Middleboro, where he 
had an interesting pastorate for some six years. 
Still suffering from too much sedentary work, 
and having a call to the superintendence of 
schools in Northampton, his old home and that 
of his kindred, he closed his engagement with 



that people, June 30, 1873, and began here the 
next da)'. His services continued until 1876, 
three years having been the ordinary term in 
those days of unsettled opinions as to this 
office. His faithful administration and helpful 
labors are remembered and often mentioned by 
the many teachers who taught in that period. 

Not caring to resume a pastorate, and his 
family preferring to remain in town, he was led 
to establish in 1877 the first Western Loan 
and Trust Company agency in this locality, 
it being incorporated as The New England 
Loan and Trust Company of Des Moines, la. 
He has since carried on a fairly profitable 
business, his systematic, honest, and upright 
methods of transaction winning the confidence 
and meeting the approval of all concerned. 
Some eight or ten rival agencies have sprung 
up and passed away, the New England Agency, 
as at first, so now, the only one here extant. 
Mr. Edwards has written much for the local 
press, and among his published works are a 
"History of the Searle Family" and an ad- 
dress on "The Death of Abraham Lincoln." 

On October 16, 1867, Mr. Edwards was 
united in marriage with Mrs. Mary Blankin- 
ship Dyer, widow of Elisha Dyer, of Abing- 
ton, and a daughter of William N. Thomas, of 
Rochester, Mass. This estimable lady died 
January 6, 18S4, aged fifty-one. Two chil- 
dren were the fruit of this union : Harry Dear- 
born, born July 25, 1868, died October 16, 
1S68; the other, Halley Winslovv, born in 
Middleboro, August 13, 1870, was graduated 
from Amherst College in 1891, and though 
hindered by imperfect vision has done much 
advanced work in the Latin and Greek courses. 
Mrs. Edwards had two daughters by her first 
marriage; namely, Adelaide Frances and Eliz- 
abeth Cummings. The former, a lady of 
much taste and culture in art study, having 
been at Smith College in its first year, married 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



S 2 5 



F. N. Kneeland, Cashier of the First National 
Bank of Northampton. They have two chil- 
dren living. Elizabeth C, unmarried, who 
makes herself welcome and widely useful, is 
a graduate of the Northampton High School. 
It may be added of Mr. Edwards that, 
though having never been abroad, he has trav- 
elled very extensively in this country anil 
Canada, from Maine to Florida, to California, 
and Victoria in British America, having trav- 
ersed all the routes to the Pacific and seen all 
our grand divisions but Arkansas, Indian Ter- 
ritory, and Oklahoma. 




ALKER BROTHERS. This is the 
leading mercantile firm of Green- 
wich, and the name is also promi- 
nent in the farming and lumbering interests of 
Hampshire County and vicinity. William H. 
and George B. Walker are both natives of 
Hardwick, Worcester County, Mass., the for- 
mer having been born November 30, 1857, the 
latter September 9, 1862. They are the sons 
of James A. and Sarah (McClintock) Walker. 
Their great-grandfather, Abel Walker, re- 
moved from Rehoboth to Hardwick in 1779, 
and was one of the first settlers in the town. 
Three generations succeeding him were born 
on the farm which he cleared. Notwithstand- 
ing the severity of his toil in felling the 
forests and breaking up new land, and the 
hardships and discomforts of country life in 
New England one hundred years ago, he lived 
to an advanced age. 

William Walker, son of Abel, was born in 
Rehoboth, and came with his father to Hard- 
wick when a lad. He, too, reared his family 
and died. His son James, the father of the 
Walker brothers, succeeded him, and in time 
became one of Hardwick's most prominent 
men. A good practical farmer, he was very 



successful in business matters; and in public 
affairs also he took a leading part. He was 
elected Representative to the State legislature 
on the Republican ticket, and in his native 
town served as Selectman and in a number of 
minor offices, his good judgment and executive 
ability being universally recognized. In re- 
ligious views he was liberal. James A. 
Walker died at the age of seventy. His wife, 
Mrs. Sarah M. Walker, who is a native of 
Ware, Mass., is still living, making her home 
with her son George B. , in Greenwichville. 
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
James Walker; namely, Susan, Fanny P., 
William H., George B., and Mary — the latter 
being the wife of Dr. Davis, of Hardwick. 

William H. and George B. Walker grew to 
manhood on the farm in Hardwick, in their 
early years attending the district school in 
that town, and later finishing their studies in 
Brimfield. Both brothers have been for years 
engaged in farming and lumbering. They 
caii)' on general farming on an extensive scale, 
owning twelve hundred acres of land in Green- 
wich, Hardwick, and other towns in the vicin- 
ity. The estate on which Abel Walker settled 
in 1779 is kept in fine condition, its general 
appearance betokening good management and 
thrift. It is a beautiful homestead, the fine 
old hard maples which have lived through the 
storms of many years still guarding in stately 
rows the approach to the old residence. The 
lumbering business of the Walker Brothers is 
also quite extensive. They own and operate 
a large saw-mill in Greenwich, which they 
purchased in 1883, and with the latest im- 
proved machinery are prepared to turn out all 
kinds of lumber for building purposes, also 
manufacturing a large amount of box lumber, 
their yearly output in all amounting to over 
half a million feet. In [890 they established 
a general store in Greenwich. This enterprise 



S 26 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



is under the especial charge of the younger 
brother, George B. Walker. 

William H. Walker was married November 
25, 1883, to Ella M. Hillman, a native of 
Hardwick, born in 1858. Four children have 
blessed their union: James H., Stephen H., 
Charles D. , and Laura E. Mr. Walker is a 
Republican in politics, and his only social 
affiliation is with the Masonic fraternity. On 
the subject of religion both brothers hold lib- 
eral views. 

George B. Walker was married June 22, 
1892, to Hattie, daughter of Alden and Sophia 
Snow, of Galeville, N. Y. They have a fam- 
ily of two children, Raymond and Sophia. 
George Walker also is a Republican. He 
served as Selectman during 1892-93, and is 
now on the board ; and he also holds the office 
of Overseer of the Poor, and has filled minor 
offices. He is a member of the Masonic Order, 
belonging to Bethel Lodge, A. F. & A. M., 
of Greenfield. His wife is a member of the 
Congregational church at Greenwich. 




jDWARD BAKER, whose portrait ac- 
companies the present sketch, is a prac- 
tical tanner in prosperous circum- 
stances, living in the eastern pail of Chester- 
field. He was born in this town, November 
12, 1839. His parents were Andrew K. and 
Evelina (Edwards) Baker, both of Chesterfield, 
the former born February 6, 1806, the latter 
November 10, 1810. Andrew K. Baker was 
a prominent citizen, and was engaged in farm- 
ing up to the time of his death. He was a 
man of amiable disposition, open-hearted and 
kindly in his ways, and was universally re- 
gretted when he died, on February 20, 1866. 
1 1 is wife, to whom he was united in Chester- 
field, December 29, 1831, is yet living. They 
were the parents of four children, namely: 



Esther, born August 28, 1833, who lives with 
her mother in Chesterfield; Clemina, born 
October 28, 1835, who married Amos Hawkes, 
of Goshen, on December 27, 1855, and died 
December 13, 1889, her husband following her 
to the last home in February, 1893; Edward, 
the subject of this sketch ; and John Howard, 
born November 19, 1846, who died in St. 
Paul, Minn., November 30, 1872. 

Edward Baker received a good education in 
the schools of Hampshire County. At the age 
of nineteen he left home, going to work in a 
grocery store owned by Aim on S. Ludden at 
Easthampton, which had a market attached, 
where he learned the trade of meat cutting. 
Two years later he went to Goshen to work as 
a butcher, remaining for some time. In 1865 
he purchased the farm that he now occupies, 
which then comprised one hundred acres ; and 
he has since doubled his possessions, being 
now the owner of two hundred acres. Mr. 
Laker worked at his trade during the first four 
years that he lived on the farm, but now his 
whole time is devoted to farming, and his 
props are the source of a handsome income. 

On July 4, 1 861, he was united in marriage 
with Elizabeth A. Damon, daughter of Marlon 
and Adeline (Campbell) Damon, who was born 
June 5, 1845. Mr. Damon was a native of 
North Adams, and his wife of Northampton. 
He has been for many years engaged in farm- 
ing in Goshen ; and there his daughter was 
born, and there she met her fate in the shape 
of the young butcher, for it was during his 
stay in Goshen that Mr. Baker became a ben- 
edict. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Baker has 
been brightened by three children, namely: 
Addie Florence, born November 7, 1862, who 
died March 21, 1864; Lettie Isabelle, born 
February 5, 1865, who married Arthur A. 
Brooks, and lives in Housatonic, Mass. ; and 
Ida Agnes, born October 1, 1867, who mar- 




EDWARD BAKER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5 2 9 



ried John E. Burr, of Worthington, and has 
one child, Harold. 

Politically, Mr. Baker is an advocate of Pro- 
hibition. He is not an office-seeker, but was 
for several years Road Surveyor in Chester- 
field. Mrs. Baker is a member of the Advent 
church in Goshen, and has always taken an 
active interest in church work. The}' have a 
comfortable dwelling, which, surrounded by 
its ample grounds, makes a pleasant country 
home. 




"ARMIDASSE LUSSIER, baker and 
dealer in bread, cake, and pies in 
Northampton, has built up an exten- 
sive and lucrative trade in this city, and has 
the reputation of making the finest and most 
wholesome of bakery products. He is a native 
of Canada, in which country he was born, ( )cto- 
ber 24, 1858, a son of Peter Pussier, who was 
born in the same province on Christmas Daw 
1 83 1. His father, Joseph Pussier, also a 
native of Canada, was there engaged in farm- 
ing for the greater part of his active lite. 
although the year preceding his death was 
spent in Holyoke, where he died at the age of 
sixty years. He was twice married, his first 
wife, grandmother of our chief subject, bear- 
ing him five children, and his second wife 
eight. Peter Pussier lived in Canada until 
after his union with Derimenne Charbonneau 
in 1853. In 1867 he removed with his family 
to Holyoke, where he learned the baker's 
trade, which he followed there for nine years. 
In 1886 he opened a bakery in Springfield in 
partnership with his eldest son, Peter Pussier, 
Jr. ; and they are still carrying on a thriving 
business in that city. Of the thirteen chil- 
dren born to the parents five sons and three 
daughters are now living, and, with the excep- 
tion of a daughter in Canada, are residents of 
the old Bay State. 



Harmidasse Pussier learned the trade of 
baker from his father in Holyoke. In 1SS5 he 
went to Northampton, where he worked two 
years as baker tor Mr. Couture. He then 
went to Leeds and engaged in business for 
himself, remaining there three years and meet- 
ing with a fair degree of success; but desiring 
a larger field of operation he came to North- 
ampton and purchased his present home and 
bakery. He is now well established, and en- 
joys a large and increasing trade. -Mr. Lussier 
was united in marriage November 24, [879, to 
Margaret Dauyard, a daughter of Michelle 
Dauyard, of Canada, she being one of a family 
of four daughters and five sons born to her par- 
ents. The two children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Lussier passed but a short time on earth, their 
little son dying in infancy, and a winsome 
little girl when two and a half years old. 
Their household, however, is brightened by 
the presence of two adopted children, Wilfred 
Lamontagne, a boy of sixteen years, and Al- 
bina (Labreche) Lussier, a beautiful child of 
five years. Mi. Lussier is a man of unques- 
tioned integrity, and by his steady industry and 
honest business methods has won the respect 
of the community. Socially, he is a member 
of the Foresters and of the St. Jean Baptiste 
Society; and, religiously, both he and his wife 
are devout and faithful members of the French 
Catholic Church. 



*-*•»-* 




LLEN GOODELL SMITH, eldest 
daughter of Asahel Goodell, and sister 
of P. \V. Goodell, was born at Bel- 
chertown, Mass., August 25, 1835. She 
acquired her elementary education in the 
common schools, and, after pursuing higher 
branches of study two terms at the Amherst 
Academy, taught school one term. Compelled 
by ill health to relinquish her labors, in 1857 



53° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



she entered Dr. William T. Vail's Granite 
State Health Institute, at Hill, N.H., where 
she became interested in the successful method 
practised there of treating the sick, and de- 
cided to become a teacher and a practitioner in 
the new school. 

After a connection of two years with that 
institution as a patient, student, and assistant, 
she became a member of a numerous class in 
the autumn of 1S59 at the Hygeio-Therapeutic 
College, New York City, of which R. T. Trail 
was the founder. The following winter she 
was again at the college, and was graduated in 
the spring of 1861 with the highest honors. 
Immediately after she became matron and phy- 
sician at Dr. Vail's Sanitarium, where she re- 
mained until the autumn of 1862, when she 
entered the public lecture field as a demonstra- 
tor and instructor of medical, temperance, and 
health reform. In 1864 she accepted the post 
of resident physician at Dr. R. T. Trail's Sani- 
tarium in New York City, which she held for 
a period of two years, during a portion of that 
time being in charge of the Swedish movement 
cure and Turkish bath departments. In 1866 
she was medical director and physician of the 
movement cure and Turkish bath departments 
connected with the sanitarium of Dr. J. H. 
Hero at Westboro, Mass. 

On April 16, 1867, Miss Goodell was 
united in marriage with Dr. John Smith, of 
Noithfield, Minn.; and during the years 1868 
and 1869 they established the first sanitarium 
and public baths ever introduced in the city of 
St. Paul. In 1 87 1 Dr. Ellen G. Smith ac- 
cepted the situation of resident physician in 
Dr. R. T. Trail's Sanitarium at Philadelphia, 
and during her residence in that city she intro- 
duced parlor lectures to ladies. After three 
years of the most successful practice in the 
last-named city she returned to her home at 
Pelchertown, where on August 25, 1874, her 



only son, Lindsey Goodell Smith, was born. 
From 1875 to 1883 Dr. Smith was constantly 
and successfully engaged in lecturing and 
practising her profession in Massachusetts and 
California. In 1883 she retired from active 
practice, and has since then been engaged in 
literary work and as an assistant in the office 
of her brother, L. W. Goodell. 




RS. LURENE S. GOULD, widow 
of Solon H. Gould, of Smith's 
Ferry, who died in 1873, is the 
daughter of Milo J. and Sally J. (Street) 
Smith. Her grandfather, Lewis Smith, who 
was born in West Springfield, was a son of 
David Smith, whose father also was named 
David. Lewis Smith settled at Smith's Ferry 
about one hundred and ten years ago. The 
great events of his life happened in his early 
years. He entered the Revolutionary army 
when a boy of sixteen, and was one of the 
great contingent of untrained militia which 
eventually conquered the best-trained army in 
the world. When scarcely twenty-two he mar- 
ried, and, with his good wife, shouldered the 
cares of house-keeping. They reared eleven 
children, all of whom became heads of fami- 
lies; and at one time five of his sons were liv- 
ing contiguous to each other on one street. A 
daughter Eunice, who is now the widow of 
Hiram W. Bagg, and resides in Erie, Pa., is 
a remarkably bright and active lady, though 
ninety-two years of age, and is engaged in 
various charitable enterprises, pursuing the 
work with all the zest of youth. 

Milo J. Smith, the father of Mrs. Gould, 
was a man of good judgment and considerable 
force of character. He was a manufacturer of 
cider vinegar, and had a large farm at West 
Liberty, la., where he raised fine stock and 
horned cattle, in which he dealt quite exten- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



sively. In his native town he was a man of 
note, skilled in business matters ; and he set- 
tled many estates. In polities he was a Whig 
and a Republican, and was a Representative in 
the legislature several terms, serving also as 
Selectman and Justice of the Peace. He died 
in 1884, at the age of seventy-six. His wife, 
Sally J. Street, was born in what is now Hol- 
yoke. She lived to be sixty-five, passing away 
in 1874, and is interred in the family lot with 
her husband at Smith's Ferry. They reared 
three children : Milo L. , a farmer at Smith's 
Ferry, who died in 1891, when about sixty 
years of age, leaving a son and daughter; 
Lurene, Mrs. Gould; and Josephine, who died 
in 1876, at the age of thirty-five. 

In 1862 Lurene Smith became the wife of 
Solon H. Gould, a native of Charlestown, 
N. H., son of Joseph and Abigail (Hagar) 
Gould. Joseph Gould was a farmer and reared 
his son to the same vocation. He had but one 
other child, a daughter, who passed to the 
world beyond when but twenty years of age. 
Solon II. Gould's life was a brief one, cover- 
ing but thirty-five years. A daughter, Stella 
L. , born to him and his wife, entered the val- 
ley of the shadow of death just at the dawn of 
womanhood. 

Mrs. Gould retains her home at Smith's 
Ferry, but spends part of her time with her 
nieces and nephews, and also travels a great 
deal, a. few years ago having made the tour of 
Europe. She is a Congregationalist, belong- 
ing to the First Church, of which her husband 
was also a member. 



. CHESTER STRATTON, late of 
Amherst, who in his day was reputed 



( — K^S the best dentist in the Connecticut 
valley, was born in Northfield, Mass., March 
19, 1 816, son of Roswell and Rhoda (Wright) 



I Stratton. Roswell Stratton was one of the 
early settlers of Northfield, and was probably 
born there. There, it is certain, he died; and 
his wife, too, breathed her last in that town. 
Their union was blessed by five children, four 
of whom grew up. The only survivor of the 
family at present is Roswell Stratton, who 
resides in Northfield. Roth parents were 
members of the Unitarian church. 

Chester Stratton first attended school and 
grew to manhood in Northfield. He received 
a liberal education, and on completing his 
studies took up the practical work of dentistry, 
which became his life employment. He lo- 
cated in Amherst in 1843, and was in business 
in that town, winning honor in his profession 
and acquiring a modest fortune, up to the time 
of his death, which occurred August 21, 1S67. 
He was the first Vice-President of the Con- 
necticut Valley Dental Association. 

On March 31, 1845, he was united in mar- 
riage with Charlotte M., daughter of Shubael 
and Charlotte (Smith) Kenfield, who was born 
in Enfield, Mass., February 2, 1824. Shu- 
bael Kenfield was born in Belchertown, Mass., 
February 6, 1801. He was engaged in farm- 
ing in Enfield the greater part of his life, and 
was a prominent citizen of that town. Politi- 
cally, he was a Republican, and held various 
offices in the town, serving for some time as 
Selectman and as member of the School Com- 
mittee. On religious subjects his views were 
liberal. He died in Enfield, November 26, 
1862. His wife, who was born in Williams- 
town, June 2, 1 801, lived to be nearly 
ninety-two years of age, breathing her last in 
Belchertown in 1893. She was a member of 
the Congregational church. They had nine 
children, one of whom died in infancy. The 
others were as follows: Timothy S., who re- 
sides in Belchertown; Charlotte M., the wife 
of Dr. Stratton; Mary S., wife of Henry Rus- 



532 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



sell, of Amherst; Sarah M., wife of Henry J. 
Stone, of Enfield; Charles S. , residing in 
Washington, D. C. ; Elizabeth R. , wife of 
William E. Bridgman, of Belchertown ; Emily 
W. , wife of Benjamin T. Hall, of Pleasant- 
ville, N.Y. ; and Amos VV., who resides in 
Camden, N.Y. Mrs. Stratton has no children. 
Politically, Dr. Stratton believed in the 
Republican doctrines. On religious questions 
both he and his wife held liberal views. Mrs. 
Stratton, who came to her pleasant home a 
young bride in 1845, is still its mistress, after 
a lapse of fifty years. She represents one of 
the oldest families of the town, and is a capa- 
ble business woman, deserving of the respect 
and esteem universally accorded her. 



KEANDER L. RHODES, a well-to-do 
farmer in Westhampton, Hampshire 
_»^ County, Mass., was born in this 
town, March 23, 1833, son of Spencer L. and 
Esther (Ludden) Rhodes, the former of West- 
hampton, the latter of Chesterfield. Spencer 
1.. Rhodes was a farmer, whose entire life was 
spent in Westhampton, where he died in July, 
1876, his wife having passed away nine years 
before. They were the parents of three chil- 
dren, namely: Leander L. ; Albert A., a 
farmer in Huntsburg, Ohio; and Horace S., 
who is associated in business with Jacob Hol- 
ley in Northampton. 

Leander L. Rhodes in his childhood at- 
tended the public schools of Westhampton, 
where he mastered the common English 
branches, and at home learned to do farm 
work, acquiring in the mean time the knowl- 
edge of natural history and the principles of 
growth and fruition which come to every 
farmer's boy, to whom Nature's work-room is 
open from the time when the first tender bud 
appears on the branch .until is seen 



" The unnatural red 
Which Autumn paints upon the perished leaf." 

In 1858 Mr. Rhodes bought for a home the 
estate in Huntington known as the Knight 
farm, and was there engaged in general farm- 
ing till 1864, when he purchased the handsome 
property of which he is now owner. This 
estate comprises two hundred and seventy acres, 
about fifty of which are devoted to raising crops. 
Mr. Rhodes also keeps some good stock. 

On January 1, 1857, he was united in mar- 
riage with Mariette Adams, who was born in 
Huntington on April 30, 1837. Her parents, 
Martin and Sallie (Brown) Adams, were life- 
long residents of Huntington. They died 
some time since. The union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Rhodes has been blessed by the following chil- 
dren, now grown to maturity : Lyman, a 
farmer in Gove County, Kansas; Lilla, who is 
with her parents; Carrie, wife of A. M. Coit, of 
Huntington ; and Alice, wife of P. A. Connery, 
also of Huntington. All enjoyed in childhood 
and youth good educational advantages. 

In politics Mr. Rhodes favors the Republi- 
can party. He is not an office-seeker, but has 
served with credit on the Board of Selectmen 
for four years in Westhampton. Mrs. Rhodes 
is a member of the Congregational church in 
this town. They have a pleasant home, and 
are enjoying in the afternoon of life the com- 
forts of prosperity for which the master of the 
house has worked long and well, his good wife, 
needless to say, performing her full share of 
the daily tasks, as farmers' good wives do. 

An admirable likeness of Mr. Rhodes is 
placed on the opposite page. 



w* 



LLIAM EWING, of Southampton, 
Mass., whose birth occurred April 
1 8, 1S20, in County Donegal, 
Ireland, is a splendid type of those foreign- 




LEANDER L. RHODES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



535 



born citizens who have come to our country 
in a state of comparative poverty, and with 
laudable energy and ambition have toiled and 
saved until they have acquired a competency. 
His father, a prominent man of County Don- 
egal, where he followed his trade of weav- 
ing and also engaged in farming, lived and 
died on the green sod of his native isle, his 
death occurring in 1842. He married Flora 
Butler, and they reared three children: Will- 
iam; Alexander, a farmer, residing in North- 
ampton; and John, now living in Springfield, re- 
tired from active business. The mother came 
to this country with her son William, and here 
spent her remaining years, dying in July, 1861. 
William Ewing was reared and educated in 
the place of his nativity, and there learned the 
weaver's trade. Having friends in America, 
he determined to join them here, being at- 
tracted by the superior advantages afforded to 
the laborer in this country; and on March 
10, 1850, accompanied by his mother and his 
bride, to whom he had been united four days 
before, and one cousin, he embarked for New 
York. His wife, formerlv Mary Ewing, was 
a native of County Donegal, born December 
18, 1826, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah 
(O'Donnell) Ewing. Her parents afterward 
emigrated to Massachusetts, locating in East- 
hampton, where they spent their remaining 
days. Mr. and Mrs. Ewing landed in New 
York, April 21, 1850, after a six weeks' voy- 
age, and came directly to Easthampton, where 
his two brothers were then living. For seven 
years thereafter he worked at the weaver's 
trade; and, having by dint of close economy 
and wise management saved enough money to 
warrant him in the purchase of a farm, he 
then bought sixty acres of land, which are now 
included in his present homestead. Toiling 
with unwearied interest to clear and improve 
his land, he has since added to the original 



acreage, and while advancing his own welfare 
has been an important factor in developing 
the agricultural resources of this section of 
the county. He carries on general farming 
and dairying, raising milch cows, and selling 
his milk to the local creamery. 

The home circle of Mr. and Mrs Ewing has 
been enlarged by the birth of fourteen chil- 
dren, namely: Sarah, wife of John Daley, of 
Waltham, Mass. ; John, living in Northamp- 
ton ; Samuel, of Haydenville; Flora; Mar- 
garet Ann, wife of Franklin Howard, of West- 
hampton; William, who resides with his 
parents; Maria J., wife of George Brown, of 
Chicago; Robert, now living at home; Eliza- 
beth, wife of Lyman Clapp, now Selectman at 
Northampton; Alexander, a resident of Flor- 
ence, Mass. ; Emma, wife of George Hames, 
of Chelsea, Mass. Margaret Ann and two 
infants are deceased. Besides these fourteen 
children Mr. and Mrs. Ewing have an adopted 
daughter, Margaret N.. whom they are rearing 
with the same care that they bestowed on their 
own children. Mr. Ewing takes a lively in- 
terest in the political affairs of the town, 
county, and nation, and, having the courage of 
his convictions, votes for the men and meas- 
ures he deems the best, being bound by no 
party ties, although his svmpathies are 
strongly with the Prohibitionists. 




GBERT J. CLAPP, City Clerk of North- 
ampton, Mass., was born at Easthamp- 
ton, January 15. 1843. His father, 
Luther Clapp, was a son of Thaddeus Clapp, 
a native of Easthampton, the latter having 
been a son of Joseph Clapp. The family are 
descendants of Major Jonathan Clapp. For a 
more extended account of the early ancestors 
the reader is referred to Lyman's History of 
Easthampton. 



>^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



Thaddeus Clapp, who was born March 31, 
1770, died in the spring of 1861. He was a 
tavern keeper at Easthampton, and became 
prominent in public affairs, serving as a Rep- 
resentative to the General Court twelve years, 
and as Town Treasurer for a period of twenty 
years. He married a Miss Parsons, by whom 
he had ten children, three of whom died 
young, and four sons and three daughters lived 
to reach maturity. The sons were Theodore, 
Thornton, Thaddeus, and Luther. The latter 
and the daughters have passed away. Mr. 
Clapp's grandmother died at the age of about 
sixty-five years during his boyhood; but he 
remembers distinctly her kind, genial face, 
the large gold beads about her neck, and, per- 
haps more particularly than anything else, her 
delicious pumpkin pies. 

Luther Clapp and Lucy Pomeroy, of North- 
ampton, daughter of Herman and Lucy (Par- 
sons) Pomeroy, were married on September 
7, 1830. Her father was for some years a 
button manufacturer and country merchant at 
Easthampton, and between the years 1870 
and 1875 moved to Stoversville, N.Y., where 
he engaged in the wholesale silk and thread 
trade until 1890, in which time his wife died. 
His own decease occurred two years later 
while on a visit to Asheville, N.C. Of the 
thirteen children born to Luther Clapp, one 
son died in infancy and two daughters at the 
age of ten and twelve years. Augustus M. 
Pomeroy died from exposure while serving 
as a volunteer in the Civil War; Charles, a 
teacher, died in 1863, in the prime of life; 
Joseph Clapp, also a volunteer in the Civil 
War, died in service, and is buried at Nash- 
ville, Term.; Lucy P., widow of D. C. Dun- 
fee, resides at Gloversville, N.Y. ; Emma L. 
is the wife of Francis Clapp, of Deerfield; 
Luther H. resides at Pennington Gap, Va. ; 
Egbert J. is in Northampton; Willis W. also 



is a resident of Northampton; Elizabeth H. is 
the wife of the Rev. William Slocum, a Pres- 
byterian preacher of Iowa; and Leila J. 
married Edward Pollock, of Albany, N.Y. 
Luther Clapp died on February 18, 188S, his 
wife having passed away on June 13, 1S86, 
aged seventy-four years. 

Egbert J. Clapp abandoned the parental roof 
at the age of fourteen, and for three years was 
employed as a clerk in the store of Samuel 
Palmer at Feeding Hills. Returning then to 
Easthampton, he found employment in the 
same capacity at a store in which the post- 
office was located, and later worked in the sus- 
pender factory. In 1861 he enlisted in Com- 
pany D, Twenty -first Massachusetts Volun- 
teers, in which he served through the war, 
and was mustered out at Mobile, Ala., in 
1865. His regiment was mounted for about 
two years and a half; and during the Red 
River campaign he was disabled by his horse 
falling upon him, thus causing a permanent 
injury to his spine, from the effects of which 
he is lame and obliged to use crutches. After 
coming back to Hampshire County, Mr. Clapp 
secured a position as cashier in the freight 
office of the Connecticut River Railroad at 
Northampton, and remained in charge of the 
office for eight years. 

He went to St. Johnsbury, Vt., in 1874, 
and in company with Dr. George W. Roberts 
entered mercantile business, establishing 
two stores, one in that place and another in 
Montpelier, which were devoted to the sale of 
fancy goods. After disposing of these, in 
1875 they established the same business in 
New York City; and in the autumn of that 
year Mr. Clapp went to Savannah, Ga., and 
Charleston, S.C., for the purpose of opening 
branch stores in these cities. In 1876 he 
purchased his partner's interest in these; 
and, closing up the Charleston branch, he de- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



537 



voted his attention to the business in Savan- 
nah, until compelled to relinquish trade there 
on account of the continued prevalence of 
yellow fever, and moved his business to At- 
lanta. His limbs were in such a crippled 
state that he was obliged to keep his bed 
a greater portion of the time, and was there- 
fore unable to personally attend to business, 
which resulted in his losing the sum of six 
thousand dollars by the dishonesty of his 
partner. In 1877 he returned to Northamp- 
ton, where he engaged in the dry-goods busi- 
ness from 1878 to 1884, at which time he 
was elected City Clerk, the position he now 
holds. 

Mr. Clapp is a charter member of W. L. 
Baker Post, No. 86, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, having served as its Quartermaster 
for some years, or until his resignation, and is 
a Republican in politics. In 1869 he wedded 
Miss Annie L. Pratt, of Northampton, daugh- 
ter of William and Elizabeth (Clapp) Pratt, 
and has one daughter, Bessie P., aged twelve 
years. The family reside at 229 Elm Street. 



Tj^NOBERT HAY, a leading citizen of 
L~\ Greenwich, and at one time a popu- 
J- s y ^ ^ lar hotel keeper, was born in 
Buffalo, N.Y., September 17, 1838, son of 
Henry and Lydia (Higgins) Hay. Henry 
Hay, who was a native of Scotland, was a car- 
pet manufacturer in the old country; and he- 
was also proficient in the art of frescoing. 
He emigrated to America in 1824 or 1825, 
and lived for some years in Utica and Buffalo. 
Later he was conducting a small business in 
Rochester, N.Y. An industrious and thrifty 
man, he attained a fair degree of prosperity, 
but died at the early age of forty-seven in 
Massachusetts, where the latter part of his 
life was spent. He was twice married. His 



first wife, Lydia Higgins, mother of Robert 
Hay, was a native of Buffalo, and died at the 
age of thirty-one. Besides Robert three chil- 
dren were born to Mr. Hay, namely: Henry, 
an engineer, who resides in Danvers, Mass.; 
Allison, widow of Robert Hume; and Eliza- 
beth, widow of the Rev. J. Ashton, who re- 
sides in Binghamton, N.Y. 

Robert Hay spent his early boyhood in New 
York State. He became a resident of Con- 
necticut at the age of fifteen. He began to 
learn carpet-making when a boy of fourteen, 
and worked at his trade until twenty-six years 
of age. In 1S65 he engaged in the hotel 
business in Greenwich, assuming charge of the 
Greenwichville Hotel, which he conducted for 
six years. He was subsequently proprietor 
of the hotel at Waltham for three years. 
Returning to Greenwich, he was three years 
engaged in the mercantile business, but re- 
turned to his former occupation of hotel keep- 
ing at the end of that time, taking charge of 
the Park House at Niagara Falls. At the 
end of a year he removed to Worcester, where 
for seven years he was proprietor of the Wa- 
verly House. He next took charge of the 
Massasoit House at Spencer, which he con- 
ducted for six years. He then returned to 
Greenwichville, where he has since resided, 
retired from the cares of active life. As a 
hotel man he was very popular, and his enter- 
prise and tact insured success wherever he 
went. 

Mr. Hay was united in marriage with 
Dolly, daughter of Benjamin C. and Huldah 
(Schoolcraft) Cotton. The Cottons, who are 
of English origin, were among the first set- 
tlers of New Hampshire, and for generations 
have been prominently identified with the 
public welfare, taking part in every war for 
the preservation of the Union. Mrs. Hay's 
great-grandfather and grandfather were sol- 



533 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



diers in the Revolutionary army. Her father 
served in the War of 1812; and two brothers, 
Gilman and James Cotton, were volunteers in 
the Federal ranks at the time of the late war. 
Her father, Benjamin C. Cotton, was one of 
the leading citizens of Warren, N.H., where 
Mrs. Hay was born. Seven children have 
blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hay: 
three of them — Dolly, Thomas A., and Inez 
Blanche — have passed away; Henry is mar- 
ried, and is proprietor of the Dresser House; 
Addie F. is the wife of Frank Southgate, a 
manufacturer in Worcester, Mass. ; Mabel E. 
is the wife of Otis Everett, superintendent of 
the skate factory in Worcester; and Robert, 
Jr., who also is married, is a shoe cutter in 
Greenwich. 

In political matters Mr. Hay favors the Re- 
publican party. He belongs to the Lodge of 
A. F. & A. M. at Worcester and also to the 
Continentals of that city. His home, which 
is one of the finest in Greenwich, a handsome 
residence surrounded by beautiful grounds, is 
the centre of genial and courteous hospitality, 
which none know better how to dispense than 
Mr. and Mrs. Hay. 



^' EORGE DRESSER, a well-known and 
much respected farmer and land- 
owner of Goshen, was born on the 
farm where he now resides, July 12, 1820, son 
of Moses and Vesta (Cushman) Dresser. His 
grandparents on the paternal side were Reu- 
ben and Mary (Burnell) Dresser; and his 
great-grandfather, Richard Dresser, was the 
son of Richard Dresser, Sr., who came from 
England at an early day in the history of this 
country. 

Reuben Dresser, the grandfather, was a na- 
tive of Charlton, Worcester County, Mass. 
He moved to Goshen, where his brother-in- 



law, William White, was engaged in farming 
on what is now known as the White home- 
stead, at a time when that part of the journey 
between Chesterfield and Goshen had to be 
made on foot, there being but a cow path in 
place of a road. He bought seven hundred 
acres of uncultivated land, and cleared about 
two hundred acres, building thereon a log 
house, which was later replaced by a large 
and substantial dwelling, though on a site 
slightly removed from the original primitive 
home. He kept a large amount of stock, 
mostly cattle and sheep, and became one of 
the most thriving agriculturists of his town. 
He was a Whig in politics, and held many 
town offices, which he filled with credit to 
himself and benefit to his constituents. His 
marriage to Mary Burnell took place in Ches- 
terfield. 

Their son Moses, father of George Dresser, 
was born on the farm in the large house above 
referred to, October 27, 1789. He remained 
at home after reaching manhood, and assisted 
his father in the duties of the farm, and at the 
latter's death came into possession of the 
homestead. He was engaged in general farm- 
ing; and he also built a saw-mill, and en- 
gaged to some extent in lumbering and custom 
work. Like his father he was a Whig; but 
on the formation of the Republican party he 
joined it, and remained faithful to its princi- 
ples thereafter. He served the town as Se- 
lectman for a number of years, and was one of 
the most prominent citizens of Goshen. He 
died at the age of eighty-eight years, after a 
well-spent life. His wife, Vesta Cushman, at- 
tained the age of seventy-seven. Their chil- 
dren were by name as follows: Caleb C, 
Levi, Martha (deceased), George, Dorothy, 
Chloe, Wealthy, Rufus C, and Martha (sec- 
ond). 

George Dresser received his education partly 




GEORGE DRESSER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



54' 



at a select school and partly at New Salem 
Academy. He remained at home, and took 
care of his parents in their later years, and 
after their death in 1854 came into possession 
of the farm. He then sold the place, and 
went to Herman, St. Lawrence County, N.Y., 
where he engaged in mercantile business for 
some time; but, as the buyer of the estate 
failed to make good his purchase, the prop- 
erty came again into his possession, ami in 
i860 he returned to Goshen, and settled down 
on the homestead of his immediate ancestors. 
He had previously, in 1846, built the present 
house; and he has since in other ways im- 
proved the property, and is now reckoned 
among the thriving farmers of the town. His 
son, George C, resides with him, and takes 
an active part in the general superintendence 
of the farm work. 

Mr. Dresser was married January 14, 1847, 
in Miss Alvey Stone, a daughter of Colonel 
Luther Stone. She was born January 17, 
1825, and died October 7, 1893, after many 
years of faithful performance of her duties as 
wife and mother. Her children were as fol- 
lows: Henry B., born December 17, 1849, 
married Alice Montgomery, and they have 
four children, and reside in Goshen ; George 
C. was born February iS, 1852; Vesta C, 
born September 8, 1854, married Edward C. 
Packard, and died May 18, 1879, at the age 
of twenty-four years, leaving two children — 
Edward W. and Laurence. 

Mr. Dresser is a Republican in politics. 
He has served the town as Collector and 
Treasurer as well as Selectman, and has been 
School Commissioner for twenty years. He 
stands high in the estimation of his fellow- 
townsmen, and may be justly considered as a 
good representative of the farming community 
of Hampshire County. See portrait on a pre- 
ceding page. 




D f^ UGUST K. KAPPEL, well-known as a 
singing master in South Hadley Falls, 
was born in Saxe-Weimar, Ger- 
many, August 19, 1838, son of George and 
Gretchen (Rosina) Kappel. Mr. Kappel's 
father followed agriculture, and was the pro- 
prietor of a hotel. He prospered in both un- 
dertakings, aird died in 1S58. His wife, who 
is still residing in Germany, eighty-four years 
old, became the mother of the following chil- 
dren: Christiana, who is now dead; Joanna, 
who resides in Germany; Gottlob, a resident 
of Meriden, Conn. : John, a resident of East- 
hampton ; August, the subject of this sketch; 
Ernestine, who still resides in Germany: 
Minnie, who is dead; Linna, who married 
August Feustel, and resides in South Hadley 
Falls; and Richard, who is now in the hotel 
business in Germany- 
August K. Kappel received a good educa- 
tion in the schools of Germany, and at the age 
of seventeen emigrated to the United States. 
He settled in South Hadley Falls, and en- 
gaged in the paper business, which he fol- 
lowed successfully until 1892. Immediately 
after his arrival in South Hadley Falls, Mr. 
Kappel organized the singing clubs, over 
which he has since continued to preside. He 
also directs a similar organization in Holyoke. 
In May of the present year he established him- 
self in the wine and liquor trade in South 
Hadley Falls, which he is now conducting. 
He is a Democrat in politics. 

Mr. Kappel married Amelia Winter, a na- 
tive of Saxe-Weimar, daughter of Edward and 
Ernestine Winter. They have four children, 
namely: Hugo, a book-binder in Holyoke; 
Oscar, who is employed at Johnson's drug 
store as a pharmacist: Selmar, who is now 
teaching school in South Hadley Falls; and 
Minnie, who resides at home. Mr. Kappel 
takes a lively interest in musical organiza- 



5 4-' 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tions, and is very popular among the various 
singing clubs. 



/ 3)kORGE H. W. SMITH, a well-known 
Vp I boot and shoe dealer and jeweller of 
Ware, was born in Amherst, Mass., 
June 15, i860. The family was originally 
from England, as the name indicates. John 
W. Smith, great-grandfather of our subject, 
was one of the first settlers of Westerly, R.I., 
and was a man of note in his day. He had a 
factory in Westerly, and was the inventor of a 
shearing cloth. At his death he left a good 
property. His son, also named John W., re- 
sided in Westerly, and was a dyer by trade. 
He, like his father, accumulated a good prop- 
erty. His death took place in Amherst about 
1886, at the advanced age of eighty-three 
years. He married Augusta M. Rathbone, of 
Hartland, Conn. ; and they were the parents 
of eight children, seven sons and one daugh- 
ter, including triplets, two of the sons and a 
daughter being born at one birth. One of 
these three, a son, died in childhood. The 
other two are now living, one being Augusta, 
wife of Avery R. Cushman, of North Am- 
herst, and the other, Frank, being a whole- 
sale meat dealer in Providence, R.I. Mrs. 
Augusta M. Smith, the. mother, died in North 
Amherst when eighty-four years old. 

George W. Smith, father of the subject of 
this sketch, was born in Enfield, Mass., about 
the year 1828, and learned the trade of me- 
chanic, which he has followed most of his ac- 
tive life. He now lives retired on a small 
farm at North Amherst. He stands high in 
the community, and is a Master Mason. He 
married Cynthia Collis, who was born in 1830 
in Brimfield, Mass. She was the daughter 
of Jonathan Collis, of Herkimer, N.Y., who 
died at Brimfield at the age of seventy-six. 



His wife, mother of Mrs. George W. Smith, 
was Phcebe Parker, a native of Warren, Mass. 
She died in Brimfield when seventy-two years 
old. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. George 
W. Smith one son and one daughter died in 
childhood. 

George H. W. Smith was the youngest child 
of his parents. He was educated in the 
common and high schools of his native town, 
and began business for himself at the age of 
twenty years. He came to Ware, October 1, 
1889, after being for some time engaged in 
the jewelry business in Providence, R.I. His 
experience as a jeweller has covered some 
twelve or fifteen years in all. He keeps a 
select stock, embracing the latest novelties in 
both departments of his business, and is well 
known as a skilled workman and a thoroughly 
reliable merchant. Mr. Smith was married 
September 23, 1889, to Jessie V. Blanchard, 
of Providence, R.I. Mrs. Smith's parents are 
the Rev. Albert D. and Mary D. Blanchard, 
now residents in Salida, Col. They are the 
owners of a fine ranch in Missouri Park, and 
Mrs. Smith's father is a Baptist minister. 
Mr. Smith is independent in politics, but 
usually votes with the Republican party. He 
has hitherto escaped the responsibilities of 
public office, and prefers to devote his atten- 
tion to the management of his growing busi- 
ness. He and his wife are among the most 
respected residents of Ware. 



/GORDON B. MILLER, of South Had- 
\J \3 1 ley, born June 25, 18 19, in the 
house now the home of himself and 
his sister, is descended from one of the oldest 
and most respected families of Hampshire 
County. The house, which was erected by 
one of his ancestors in the year 1700, has 
many quaint and curious relics of pioneer 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



543 



times. Mr. Miller is a son of the late Aaron 
John and Theodosia (Parsons) Miller, who 
were born, reared, and married in the town of 
Ludlow, this county. 

Mr. Miller's parents after their marriage 
commenced housekeeping on this homestead, 
which was then owned by the groom's grand- 
mother, widow of his paternal grandfather, an 
early settler of the town. Aaron John Miller 
was one of the leading tanners of the town 
and a prominent citizen. In addition to his 
agricultural ventures he had quite a practice 
as a country doctor, in which capacity, being 
familiar with the medicinal properties of herbs 
and roots, he prescribed and cared for his 
neighbors whenever they fell sick. His wife, 
who was his faithful assistant in all of his 
good works, died November 10, 1854. He 
survived her, living until January 12, 1866. 
They reared seven children, as follows: Aaron 
John, named after his father, who died at the 
age of fifty-four years: Gordon B., the subject 
of this sketch; William A., a resident of 
Holyoke: Jane A., residing in Hadley, the 
widow of the late Edward R. Gaylord ; Reu- 
ben P., who died in 1892; Mary E., residing 
on the old home farm with her brother; and 
Asa L., who died in October, 1869. 

Gordon B. Miller obtained his earl)' educa- 
tion in the pioneer schools of his time. The 
old log school-house attended by him still 
stands on land adjoining his farm. On attain- 
ing his majority, Mr. Miller began learning 
the trade of a harness-maker. He worked at 
it three years in Ludlow, and subsequently 
four years in Northampton. The indoor con- 
finement proved injurious to his health, and 
he was obliged to seek mure healthful work. 
Returning to the parental homestead, he as- 
sisted in the labors of the farm until the death 
of his father, since which time he has had full 
control of the estate. He has about thirty-five 



acres ot land, mostly under cultivation. In 
raising hay, corn, and stock he has met with 
invariable success. Mr. Miller has made 
many improvements on the property, and has 
now one of the best-appointed and most valu- 
able estates, for its size, of any in the county. 
He and his sister are held in high regard 
throughout the entire community. In politics 
Mr. Miller is a steadfast Republican, and in 
religious matters Miss Miller is a valued 
member of the Congregational church. 



W<: 



LLIAM C. LATHAM, a retired 
farmer living at Florence, was born 
in County Tipperary, Ireland, Oc- 
tober 26, 1824, son of William and Joanna 
(Cormac) Latham. 

William Latham, who was also a native 
of County Tipperary, was steward for a state 
minister, who possessed a large estate. He 
and his wife reared to adult life four sons and 
seven daughters. Of these, besides the subject 
of this sketch, there are now living two daugh- 
ters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a son and two 
daughters in the old country. The youngest 
member of the family, a son, came to America 
in early manhood, served in the Civil War as 
First Lieutenant in a company of cavalry, and 
when but twenty-six years of age was killed in 
battle at Baton Rouge, where his remains 
were subsequently buried. 

William C. Latham acquired a practical 
common-school education, and was reared to 
farm life in his native land. He embarked 
March 9, 1849, on a sailing-vessel bound for 
the United States, and after a voyage of five 
weeks and four days landed at New York City. 
After spending a short time with his aunts in 
Brooklyn, N.V., he came to Northampton, 
M.iss. Later he secured work in a woollen 
factory in Leeds, where he was employed for 



544 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



two years. He next worked at farming, and 
afterward obtained a salaried position in the 
meat business. Soon after his marriage, 
in the fall of 1850, he settled in Florence 
on four acres of land on West Street, in 
the locality known as "The Commons," 
where he erected a comfortable and substantial 
home. 

His wife, whose maiden name was Miss 
Mary Grady, was born in County Kerry, Ire- 
land. She came to this country alone in 
1848, and until her marriage made her home 
with her brother, Thomas Grady, who then 
resided in Florence. Eleven children were 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Latham, of whom six 
sons and three daughters grew to adult life. 
Three were born at Whately, while the rest 
are natives of Florence. All now reside in 
Florence except Michael Latham, who lives 
in Newark, N.J. Those deceased were David 
Latham, who went to Colorado, where he was 
killed when but twenty -one years old; and 
John Latham, who died in 1892, about the 
age of thirty-five years, leaving a wife and 
three children, who reside in Florence. 
William Whately Latham, the contractor of 
Florence, has met with success in his chosen 
vocation, and has carried through several large 
contracts in a very satisfactory manner. His 
fine stone dwelling, erected in the summer of 
1893, is one of the best houses in Florence, 
lie is married, and has a son and daughter. 
Nathaniel Latham, who is in the cutlery 
business, resides next to his father. He, 
too, is married, and has a son and daughter. 
Henry Latham follows the trade of a pain- 
ter. He has a wife; and they have three 
children, two sons and a daughter. William 
C. Latham and his family are all communicants 
of the Catholic church. They are highly es- 
teemed in the town, and have a large circle 
of friends. 




HARLES E. STRONG, of Hunting- 
ton, a well-known farmer and a manu- 
facturer of whetstones, was born in 
that town October 6, 1853, son of Hopkins 
and Roxana (Knowlton) Strong. Mr. Strong's 
father was a lifelong agriculturist and a highly 
respected citizen of Huntington. He was a 
Congregationalist in his religious belief, and 
united with the church. In politics he was an 
active supporter of the Republican party. He 
died at the age of sixty-six years. His wife 
became the mother of two children : Charles 
E., the subject of this sketch; and Samuel, 
who died at the age of seventeen. 

Charles E. Strong was educated in the 
schools of Huntington, and was reared to an 
agricultural life. He resided with his parents 
and assisted in carrying on the farm, which he 
took charge of after his father's death. He 
subsequently engaged in the butchering busi- 
ness, and in 1877 moved to his present farm, 
which he purchased two years later. The 
property consists of four hundred acres of land, 
which he devotes to general farming and stock- 
raising. An additional source of income on it 
is a fine trout stream, which is now leased to 
a Springfield club. Mr. Strong is also exten- 
sively engaged in manufacturing scythe-stones. 
He owns the quarry from which he gets the 
stone, and he ships his products to different 
parts of the country. He has always voted 
with the Republican party, and has served as 
Highway Surveyor for several years. 

On September 5, 1SS0, Mr. Strong was 
united in marriage to Mary D. Brown. She 
was born in Huntington, June 15, 1862, 
daughter of Aaron Brown, a prosperous farmer 
of Huntington, and Fanny (Leonard) Brown. 
Mr. and Mrs. Strong are the parents of three 
children, namely: Grover C, who was born 
March 9, 1886 ; Currier Edward, born March 1 5, 
1 891 ; and Gladys Mary, born January 19, 1895. 




N. RAINVILLE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



547 




,EV. FATHER N. RAINVILLE, 
pastor of the Church of the Sacred 
Heart at Northampton, is a native of 
Canada, born at Marieville in 1846. His par- 
ents, Godfrey ami Liber (Masse) Rainville, 
have both passed through death unto the life 
immortal, the father having died in 1869, aged 
fifty-four years, and the mother ten years later, 
having rounded out a period of threescore 
years. Of their thirteen children but five are 
now living, namely: four daughters, all of 
whom are married ; and one son, Father Rain- 
ville. One brother, Issie Rainville, was for 
many years a Notary Public. 

Father Rainville is of French extraction, 
the first of the family to settle in this country 
having been Paul de Rainville, who emigrated 
from Normandy, France, to Quebec, about 
1640. For many generations past the family 
have been engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
belonging to the yeomanry of France, though 
in earlier years they were of the nobility- 
Francois de Rainville, father of Godfrey, 
above named, removed from Quebec to St. 
Marie, settling in the wilds prior to, or about 
the time of, his marriage, and there improved 
a good farm. He was a very prominent and 
influential resident of that town, and was a 
member of Parliament one term. 

Father Rainville was educated at Petit Sem- 
inary de St. Marie de Monnoir, and began his 
professional labors in this State at the Hol- 
yoke Church of the Sacred Heart, where he 
was assistant priest two years. On January 5, 
1886, he assumed charge of his present parish. 
which was then in its infancy; and his work 
in this community has been greatly blessed. 
His force of character, talent, and ability are 
phenomenal; and it is only through his per- 
sistent effort and wise forethought that the 
French Catholic Church of this city has been 
completed. He is much beloved and revered 



by his parishioners, a large number of people, 
there being now one thousand communicants 
in his church; and he readily wins the esteem 
of others with whom he comes in contact, and 
whom lie impresses by his evident sincerity, 
kindness, and nobleness of purpose. 

As the spiritual director of a large congre 
gation Father Rainville occupies a position of 
influence and power which is widely and 
deeply felt and must be the means of great 
good. Readers of the "Review" will be 
pleased to observe his likeness among the por- 
traits in this Hampshire County collection. 



fHOMAS T. SHUMWAY, a prosper- 
ous farmer of South Hadley and a vet- 
eran of the Civil War, was born in 
Belchertown, Mass., December 11, 1822, son 
of Vina and Lavinia (Squires) Shumway. Mr. 
Shumway's parents were natives and lifelong- 
residents of Belchertown. His father, who 
was reared to agricultural life, followed farm- 
ing until his death, which occurred in 1833. 
His mother was again married, her second 
husband being Leonard Cole. She died in 
1843. Vina Shumway was the father of six 
children, as follows: Lyman, who was drowned 
in a pond near Belchertown in 1850; Henry 
Harrison, who is a wagon-maker, and resides 
in New Hampshire; Marcus, who died in 
infancy; Elijah Dwight, a blacksmith and 
wagon-maker of South Amherst, Mass. ; La- 
vinia, a widow, now residing in this State; 
and Thomas T. , the subject of this sketch. 
Thomas T. Shumway at an early age com- 
menced work in a factory. He afterward 
entered the employ of Asa Clark, of Belcher- 
town, with whom he remained as a farm hand 
for ten vears. He next went to Chicopee 
Falls, where he was employed by his brother 
for some time, after which he returned to Pel- 



548 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



chertown and resumed farming. In 1843 Mr. 
Shumway moved to South Hadley, where he 
purchased a farm, and successfully followed 
agriculture for about nineteen years. In July, 
1862, he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-fourth 
Massachusetts Volunteers. He served through 
the most important period of the Civil War, 
during which his regiment was continually 
upon the move, and participated in many deci- 
sive battles. At the battle of New Market on 
May 15, 1864, he received a wound from 
which he was confined to the hospital for seven 
months. In 1 865 he was honorably discharged 
from the service, and returning to South Had- 
ley he has since been engaged in agriculture. 

In September, 1844, Mr. Shumway was 
united in marriage to his first wife, who was 
formerly Joanna Bishop. She was born in 
Belchertown, daughter of Arnold and Sarah 
(Packard) Bishop, both old residents of Bel- 
chertown. Mrs. Shumway bore her husband 
six children, as follows: Everett Myron, who 
died in 1861; Charles H., who resides in 
Northampton; Everett Myron (second), who 
resides in New York State; Lavinia, now 
abroad; Clara Anna, who resides at home; and 
another child who died in infancy. Mr. 
Shumway' s first wife died November 10, 1865. 
He wedded for his second wife Jemima Weeks, 
who had no children. Mr. Shumway is a 
Republican in politics, a comrade of Post No. 
86, Grand Army of the Republic, of Northamp- 
ton, and a member of the Christian Association 
of old soldiers. 



sm? 



EORGE L. HALL, the efficient super- 
VJ^I intendent of the Easthampton poor 
farm, is a native of Simsbury, Conn., 
where he was born March 28, 1861. His pa- 
rents were William R. and Mary (Hiland) 
Hall, the former of whom was born in Ver- 
mont in 1840. 



William R. Hall followed the calling of 
agriculturist with good success. When the 
Civil War broke out in 1861, he entered the 
army as a volunteer, and during his service 
received a shell wound in his ankle. Prior to 
receiving his honorable discharge he was pro- 
moted to the rank of Corporal. He died at 
Simsbury in 1891. His wife, who was born 
in Ireland, bore him seven children, of whom 
a daughter died in infancy and a son when four 
years of age. The living are as follows : Will- 
iam H. Hall, a successful merchant in Sims- 
bury; George L. ; Frederick C, living on the 
old homestead; Nellie E. , residing with her 
brothers on the farm; and Joseph L., who 
assists his brother in the management of the 
homestead place. Their mother, who lives 
with them, receives a widow's pension. 

George L. Hall, who was reared to farm 
life, received a good common-school education. 
At fifteen years of age he began to work for 
himself. He had been engaged in different 
places before he came to Easthampton in 1890 
to take charge of the poor farm. It is a sala- 
ried position, and Mr. Hall in his management 
has proved himself the right man for the place. 
The house is large and commodious, and the 
farm, which is small, is in an excellent state 
of cultivation. There are at present between 
fifteen and twenty inmates in the institution. 

He was married on February 9, 1889, to 
Miss Margaret Buckner, of Easthampton, a 
daughter of Clement Buckner and his wife, 
whose maiden name was Christina Hannah. 
Her father was born in Germany, and her 
mother was a native of Scotland. The former 
died in 1880, leaving his widow with three 
children, namely: George L. Buckner, a 
Deputy Sheriff, residing in Easthampton ; 
Clement Buckner, also living in Easthampton; 
and Mrs. Hall. In his political relations Mr. 
Hall is a Republican. He and his wife are 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



549 



highly esteemed members of the Congrega- 
tional church. 



OHN A. BARTLETT, a substantial 

citizen and a practical agriculturist of 
Enfield, has spent his whole life within 
the borders of that town, his birth occurring 
there on June 26, (843. He is a son of Alex- 
ander, Jr., and Susan (Robinson) Bartlett, 
respectively natives of Enfield and Hardwick, 
Mass. 

Alexander Bartlett, grandfather of John A., 
was one of the pioneer settlers of Pelham, this 
county, where he purchased a farm and lived 
for a number of years. Later on he resided in 
Belchertown for a time; but the last years of 
his life were spent in Enfield, where he died 
at the age of seventy-six years. He was 
drafted for service in the War of 1812, and 
went to Boston ; but although he was sent to 
Boston he was not called upon for active ser- 
vice. He married Miss Deborah Brown, who 
reared him a family of seven children. Two 
of these are still living, namely: Mrs. Sarah 
Rogers, of Greenwich, Hampshire County; 
and Sylvanus Bartlett, of Concord, N.H. 

Alexander Bartlett, Jr., was reared to farm 
life; anil on starting for himself he chose farm- 
ing for his occupation. He finally purchased 
the excellent farm of one hundred and fifty 
acres that his son now owns, and on which the 
last twenty years of his own life were success- 
fully spent. He lived sixty-seven years; and 
his wife, whose maiden name was Susan Rob- 
inson, died in the sixty-fifth year of her age. 
But one child, John A. Bartlett, was born of 
their union. Both parents were liberal in 
their religious views. 

John A. Bartlett received his education in 
the common schools of Enfield and Pelham. 
He remained with his parents, caring tor them 
during the last years of their life. At their 



death he became the owner of the old home- 
stead, on which he continues to reside. Pie is 
profitably engaged in mixed farming, and his 
dwelling and bams indicate comfort and pros- 
perity. On May 20, 1867, he was joined in 
marriage with Miss Lydia A. Aldridge, who 
was born in Belchertown in 1.X42. They have- 
no children. Politically, Mr. Bartlett is a 
faithful adherent of the Republican party. 
Both he ami his wife are liberal in their relig- 
ious views. 



"£]YOHN WRIGHT, one of the leading agri- 
culturists of Worthington, was bom in 
Clyde, N.Y., in [830. He bears the 
name of his adopted parents. His former 
name was Didy. His father, Richard Didy, 
who was a native of New York State, spent 
the major part of his life in the town of Rose, 
N.Y., where he was well known and success- 
fully followed the occupation of farming. He 
died there in 1836, his wile having passed 
away in 1830. They were the parents of seven 
children; namely, Garrett (deceased), Corne- 
lius, William, Eliza, Rebecca, Elizabeth, and 
John. 

John Didy, his mother having died (hiring 
his infancy, by his father's death was left with- 
out parental care when five years of age 
About that time he was taken into the family 
of Rufus M. Wright, who afterward legally 
adopted him, and had his name changed to that 
of John Wright. Rufus M. Wright was born 
in Massachusetts in [803. In his younger 
days he engaged in school-teaching, being one 
of the first teachers in Hampshire County. He 
afterward turned his attention to agriculture, 
and profitably followed the latter occupation up 
to his death. His wife, who was Mi>s Salina 
1'arrish before marriage, was bom in 1808. 
She died on January 22, 1870, and he twenty 
years later, on October 24, 1890. One daugh- 



55° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ter was born to them, Helen Mira, who died 
in infancy; and John Wright was in conse- 
quence like an only child to them. He lived 
with them until their death, at which time he 
inherited the place on which he has since 
resided. He is prosperously engaged in gen- 
eral farming and dairying, and makes a spe- 
cialty of butter-making. On September 9, 
1862, he enlisted from Worthington in Com- 
pany K of the Forty-sixth Massachusetts 
Regiment for service in the Civil War. He 
was first sent to the camp at Springfield, where 
he had been but eight days when he was taken 
sick and was obliged to return home. After a 
fortnight, however, he was able to return to 
his regiment, which was still at Springfield. 
He subsequently accompanied it when it em- 
barked for Newbern, N.C., where during the 
succeeding three months he served on picket 
duty at different quarters. The first engage- 
ment in which he took part was that of Red 
House Landing. After that the regiment 
returned to Newbern for a short time, and then 
went by march to Plymouth, where it was sta- 
tioned for three weeks as a guard to the town. 
At the expiration of that time it was sent back 
to Newbern, but soon after it was despatched 
to Fortress Monroe, and thence, at short in- 
tervals, successively to Baltimore, Harper's 
Ferry, and Arlington Heights. From the 
latter place the regiment was sent to Balti- 
more again, and not long after received orders 
to return home. While in the service Mr. 
Wright received injuries from which he has 
never recovered sufficiently to engage in labo- 
rious work. He was honorably discharged at 
Springfield, and at once returned to his home, 
where he has since remained occupied in the 
successful management of his farm. 

He was married on August 18, 1855, in 
Rose, N. V., to Miss Phoebe Soper, who was 
born in Long Island on September 12, 1834. 



At four years of age she removed with her 
parents to Rose, where she was educated and 
grew to womanhood. She has borne her hus- 
band three children, namely: Alfred, born 
September 7, 1857, married to Miss Julia 
Damon, a successful farmer and now in Ches- 
terfield, Mass. ; Louisa, born May 6, 1858, 
who is the wife of William Viets, a prosperous 
farmer of West Springfield, and has four chil- 
dren — Burditt, Nettie, Robert, and Clifton; 
and Hattie, born May 11, 1862, who married 
Foster Beach, by whom she has two children 
— Clayton, born November 5, 1887, and 
Mabel, bom May 30, 1889. Mr. Beach died 
May 24; 1 89 1. On May 15, 1895, Mrs. 
Beach became the wife of Herbert Higgins, 
who was born in Cummington, Mass., June 14, 
1867. In politics Mr. Wright is a Republi- 
can. He has always taken an active interest 
in the various enterprises of the town and 
county, and is well and favorably known by all 
with whom he comes in touch, being a man of 
upright business integrity. 



ZlTo 



FORGE DEXTER UTLEY, a highly 
V| p3 1 respected citizen of Ware, Mass., 
formerly a successful lumber and coal 
dealer, but now retired from active business 
life, was born in Hardwick, Worcester County, 
on March 27, 1824, son of Oren and Hannah 
(Dexter) Utley. His father was a native of 
Wilbraham, Hampden County, born on No- 
vember 30, 1787. 

His grandfather, James Utley, had three 
brothers; and all were men of large stature, 
averaging six feet or over in height and weigh- 
ing about two hundred pounds each. They 
were natives of Connecticut; and Grandfather 
Utley came thence to Wilbraham, Mass., 
where he met and married Miss Mary Ses- 
sions. He settled in Hardwick, where he 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



55 ' 



purchased a farm on which there was only a 
small clearing that was reached by bridle 
paths through the forest. He there became 
an extensive and successful agriculturist. Me 
died March 15, 181 2, at about fifty years of. 
age, and his wife in 1843, in the eighty-second 
year of her age, they having reared a family 
of three sons and two daughters. Oren Utley 
also chose the vocation of a farmer, in which 
he met with good success. He was first mar- 
ried about 1 810, to Miss Hannah Dexter, of 
Royalston, Mass., who bore him seven chil- 
dren, all of whom, with the exception of James 
D. , who died February 2, 1818, at two years 
of age, lived to years of discretion. The 
record is as follows: Maria, Mrs. Sibley, died 
in Ware in 1854, at thirty-nine years of age, 
leaving two children; Louisa, who married 
John Lewis, of Athol, Mass., died in 1879, at 
sixty-three years of age, leaving two daugh- 
ters; John Utley, whose death occurred in his 
seventy-first year, on February 4, 1890, was 
for fifty years a large produce dealer in Boston ; 
Rebecca is the widow of Zelotus Spooner, of 
Greenwich ; George D. is further mentioned 
below; and Mary M. died December 6, 1851, 
at twenty-five years of age. After their 
mother's death their father married Miss Susan 
Adams, of Brookfield, Mass., by whom he had 
two sons and a daughter, namely : Hannah, 
whose death occurred in her eighteenth year; 
Henry, who died at twenty-one years of age; 
and James, born in 1836, who is a successful 
farmer in New Braintree, Mass. The sons 
have recently placed a beautiful monument in 
the Hardwick cemetery in memory of the 
deceased. 

George Dexter Utley grew t < > manhood on 
his father's farm, acquiring a good practical 
education in the district school, and assisting 
his father in the farm work until he was 
twenty-one years of age. He then started out 



for himself, having as capital his clothes and 
twenty-five cents in money; but he possessed 
a good business ability, and during his home 
life had acquired habits of industry. His first 
position was that of manager and salesman in 
acountry store in Greenwich village, where he- 
remained eight months, receiving twelve dol- 
lars and a half per month, which was at that 
time considered good wages. Lie next went to 
work in the fork and rake shop of Butterfield 
& Sibley, the latter a brother-in-law, and was 
soon after made a partner and general manager 
of the business, having charge of the market- 
ing of their products; and four years later he 
became the owner. He subsequently engaged 
in the grist-mill business for two years, and in 
1857 moved to Southbridge, Mass., where he 
conducted an extensive teaming business, em- 
ploying forty horses ; and he also kept a hotel 
and a livery stable. Seven years later he re- 
moved to Athol, where he was engaged in 
hotel-keeping for a year. He then came to 
Ware, and again took up teaming, owning as 
many as fifty horses. He has also been a suc- 
cessful dealer in lumber and coal, and when he 
retired from an active mercantile life he was 
succeeded in this business by his son George E. 
On October 27, 1S52, Mr. Utley was united 
in marriage with Jane M. Emerson, a native 
of Winchester, and daughter of Daniel Ingalls 
and Mary S. (Oldham) Emerson. They have 
an interesting family of four children, three 
sons and a daughter, namely: Gertrude Jane, 
who married A. B. Goodier, of Southbridge, 
Mass. , and has a son and daughter; George E. 
Utley, residing in Ware, who married Miss 
Sarah Eudora Sheldon, and has one son living, 
Horace Ingalls Utley, and has buried a daugh- 
ter named Gertrude J. ; Henry A. Utley, who 
is successfully engaged in the steam laundry 
business in Amherst, Mass., is married, and 
has two sons — Lewis S. and Henry Lester, 



SS 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a daughter Louise having died in childhood; 
Charles Dexter Lftley, also living in Amherst, 
who married Miss Alice L. Smith, and has one 
daughter, Grace. 

Mr. L T tley has been a lifelong Republican, 
but has declined to serve in any official capac- 
itv. He and his estimable wife reside at their 
attractive home at 58 Church Street, where 
they have lived since April 15, 1865, enjoying 
the esteem and good will of a large circle of 
friends and acquaintances. 



(s^pOHN BAKER, who owns and occupies 
a well- improved farm in the town of 
South Hadley, is a native of Germany, 
having been born in Bavaria, June 16, 1841, 
son of Thomas and Margaret (Gebhardt) Baker, 
both lifelong residents of the same place. 
Thomas Baker followed farming in his native 
land, and died in 1845, when the subject of 
this sketch was but four years old. The wife 
died six years after. They reared eight chil- 
dren ; namely, Conrad, Margaret, George, 
Annie Margarita, Cooney, John, Johnnie, and 
Hermann. 

John Baker, left without the guardianship of 
parents at an early age, was taken in charge by 
his sister. He received a good education in 
the German schools, which are noted for their 
excellence. In 1859 Mr. Baker, who had a 
sister living at South Hadley Falls, emigrated 
to America, embarking on the ship "Toocsco. " 
After a voyage lasting eight weeks he arrived 
at New York. At once joining his sister he 
secured work in the Glasgow Mills, where he 
was employed as a weaver for eight years. 
While here he met a pretty German girl, 
Miss Catherine Cohler, who had migrated from 
Bavaria, the place of her birth, the previous 
year. The acquaintance ripened into an affec- 
tion, which resulted in marriage, August 16, 



i860. She, too, was an orphan, both of her 
parents having died in Germany. After his 
marriage Mr. Baker worked in a paper-mill 
until 1868, when he bought twenty-one acres 
of land, which are included in his present 
farm. It was mostly timber land, and he- 
cleared it and otherwise improved it. Having 
saved some money, he subsequently bought 
more land ; and he now has seventy acres, 
mostly under cultivation. He has met with 
signal success in general farming, and has 
a profitable dairy business. As a man and a 
citizen Mr. Baker is held in high respect, his 
manliness and honest integrity winning the 
confidence of all with whom he comes in con- 
tact. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have three chil- 
dren, namely: Henry, who resides near his 
parents, married to Rosanna Pickett; Emma, 
living at home; and Johnnie, who married 
Nellie Thristan, also living near the parental 
homestead. In politics Mr. Baker votes with 
the Republican party. In religious matters 
he and his wife are members of the German 
Congregational Church. Mr. Baker has con- 
siderable musical talent, and belongs to the 
Singing Club of South Hadley Falls. 



/ 3TfORGE NUTTING, a prominent and 
\ [S I well-to-do farmer of Granby, was 
born March 16, 1832, in the town of 
Hatfield, son of Bryant and Matilda (Belding) 
Nutting. 

The father, a native of Leverett, Mass., was 
a stone mason by trade, which calling he 
followed in this State for many years. He 
finally went West to Monmouth, 111., where 
he resided until his decease, August 23, 1 S40. 
His wife was a native of Whately, born Au- 
gust 26, 1800. After the death of her hus- 
band she returned to her native State and 
settled in Granby, where her death occurred 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



August 23, 1877. She b<nc her husband six 
children; namely, Lucius, Lucy, Julia, Har- 
riet, George, and Margaret. The first named 
was bom May 2~, 1822. married Elizabeth 
Allison, and they reside in Bozeman, Mont. 
Lucy, born October 21, 1825, is the widow of 
the late James Ferguson, and now makes her 
home with her son in Salt Lake City, Utah. 
Julia, born November 23, 1828, has been 
twice married, her first husband having been 
George Dame, and her second Rufus Graves, 
and is now living in California. Harriet, 
born August 17, 1830, living in Holyoke, has 
also been twice married, her first husband hav- 
ing been Louis Shelley, and her second 
Charles Wells. Margaret, born October 14, 
1835, in Chicopee, married E. A. Cook, of 
Springfield, but is now deceased. 

George Nutting received a good common- 
school education. His brother .Lucius, who 
was educated at Galesburg, 111., was the only 
member of the family to attend a higher insti- 
tution of learning. When he was sixteen 
years old he came with his mother to Granby, 
where she bought the present home farm. A 
few years later Mr. Nutting bought out his 
mother's interest in the property, ami he has 
since managed it on his own account. He 
carries on general farming, raising corn and 
hay as his staple products, in addition to a 
profitable business in dairying. Another in- 
dustry of his that brings him in good returns 
is the butchering and peddling of meat, in 
which he has the assistance of his son. In 
politics Mr. Nutting has always gone with 
the Republican party. He declines political 
honor.-, though often urged to do so by his 
fellow-citizens. The only official capacity in 
which he has served was that of Surveyor, 
which he held for twenty years. 

Mr. Nutting was married December 27, 
1852, to Miss Mary M. Lyman, a native of 



Granby, born February 11, 1832, daughter of 
Henry and Prudence (Willey) Lyman, respec- 
tively natives of Northfield, Mass., and 
Somers, Conn. Mr. Lyman was a manufact- 
urer in his early days, but subsequently en- 
gaged in business as a miller. He died 
August 30, 1867. His wife, who died Febru- 
ary 21, 1859, bore him five children; namely, 
Mary M. (Mrs. Nutting), Eliza M., Charles 
T. , D wight C, and Nancy Jane. Of the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Nutting two children 
have been bom, Dwight Curtis and William 
Lucius. Dwight C. , born March 17, 1861, 
resides near his parents. He married Mary 
Jane Bardwell, and they have two children, 
George H. and Lucius. William L. , born 
October 12, 1867, died November 30, 1894, 
leaving his widow, formerly Carrie Belle 
Adams, with four children. Mr. and Airs. 
Nutting have also one adopted son, < (liver G., 
born October 15, 1856. He married Klla 
Upham, and is now residing in Springfield. 
Following in the footsteps of his father, 
Dwight C. is engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
having a fine farm, on which he carries on 
mixed husbandry, making somewhat a specialty 
of dairying. Both Mr. George Nutting and 
his wife are people of high moral worth and 
consistent members of the Congregational 
church, toward the support of which they con- 
tribute generously. 



JONATHAN ROCKWELL WRIGHT, 
a retired farmer of South Hadley, was 
born September 15, 1813, in East- 
hampton, son of Ichabod and Mary (Clapp) 
Wright. Ichabod Wright, one of the foremost 
farmers of Easthampton, continued in his in- 
dependent occupation until his accidental death 
by drowning, August 1. 1844. His wife after- 
ward made her home with her children, and 



554 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



died May i, 1 87 1. She bore her husband 
seven children, namely: Horace, who died in 
infancy; Horace, second, for many years a 
resident of Missouri, who died at Webster 
Groves in St. Louis County; I. Strong, who 
died at Crown Point, N. Y. ; Edmund, for sev- 
eral years a home missionary in Missouri, who 
now lives at Seattle, Wash. ; Jonathan Rock- 
well, the subject of this sketch; Russell M., 
now travelling in Europe; and an unnamed 
child that died in infancy. 

Jonathan Rockwell Wright was reared on 
the home farm, and assisted in redeeming a 
large part of it from the wilderness. After 
the death of his father the homestead property 
was given to him ; and he continued its im- 
provement tor many years, carrying on mixed 
husbandry with signal success. In March, 
1 861, Mr. Wright bought his present farming 
property, containing one hundred acres of fer- 
tile land. He labored on it with persevering 
energy until he had it in a tillable condition 
with substantial buildings, and the necessary 
equipments for successful farming. He car- 
ries on general farming and stock-raising, and 
is also interested in dairy work, selling a con- 
siderable quantity of milk. As a farmer, 
neighbor, and citizen, Mr. Wright has the 
esteem of the community and the confidence 
and good will of his friends and associates. 
Politically, he is an earnest Republican, but 
he has never held office. 

On November 19, 1845, Mr. Wright was 
united in marriage to Roxanna (White) Gay- 
lord, who was born in Hampshire County, 
April 8, 1 81 7. She died in August, 1895, on 
the home farm. She was a most estimable 
woman, a devoted wife, a tender mother, and 
a wise counsellor to her husband and children, 
who hold her in loving remembrance. She 
was a conscientious member of the Congrega- 
tional church, to which Mr. Wright also 



belongs. They had four children, as follows: 
the first-born, whose birth occurred February 
2, 1849, died in infancy; Mary J., born Feb- 
ruary 6, 1850, was married June 10, 1875, to 
R. M. Smith, who now lives in Granby ; Will- 
iam Strong, born March 6, 1854, died Febru- 
ary 2, 1863; and Alvih Lorenzo, born Octo- 
ber 28, 1857, married Carrie E. Trimble, and 
now manages the home farm. 




LIVER WALKER, general insurance 
agent at Northampton, a man of 
marked financial ability, is a native 
of Hampshire County. He was born Septem- 
ber 13, 1841, in Belchertown, where his 
father, Horace Walker, was a lifelong resi- 
dent. The emigrant ancestor of his family is 
said to have been John Walker, who came 
from England at an early date, and settled in 
Eastern Massachusetts. 

Mr. Walker's paternal grandfather, Silas 
Walker, one of the large landholders of Belch- 
ertown, born there in 1764, is mentioned in 
the History of the Connecticut Valley as a son 
of Captain James Walker, who settled in 
Belchertown in 1755, and grandson of Nathan- 
iel Walker, of Weston, Mass. Silas Walker 
was a man of great strength and endurance, 
and attained a vigorous old age, retaining his 
faculties in a remarkable manner, being able 
in his last years to read the Bible through 
without the aid of glasses. He spent his life 
in Belchertown, dying in 1857, in his ninety- 
fourth year. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Demmis Sexton, bore him twelve chil- 
dren, all of whom became useful members of 
society, the sons being mostly engaged in 
farming. 

Horace Walker was born in 1793, and died 
in 1870. He owned a farm adjoining the 
parental homestead, was a prosperous farmer 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5S7 



and a respected citizen of his town. He en- 
listed as a soldier in the War of 1812, and was 
sent to Boston to aid in the defence of that 
city. While encamped there, he used to 
catch flounders in the harbor as food for his 
mess. Like his parents, Horace Walker was 
an Orthodox Congregational ist in religion 
and a consistent Christian. He married Abi- 
gail Filer, whose father owned a farm near 
by, and of their five children the following 
four grew to adult life: Henry J., born in 
1 82 1, is a well-known druggist of Northamp- 
ton; Sarah W., born in 1828, is the widow of 
Samuel D. Cowles, of Amherst; Emery P., 
born in 1832, is a commercial traveller, re- 
siding at Hartford, Conn.; and Oliver. The 
mother was much respected for her many virt- 
ues. She lived to the age of seventy-eight 
years. 

Oliver Walker remained on the farm, assist- 
ing his father in its manual labor until eigh- 
teen years old, meanwhile acquiring a good 
practical education in the district school and 
at the Monson Academy, where he spent one 
winter. In 1861, shortly after the fall of 
Fort Sumter he was one of the brave boys in 
blue who responded to the country's call for 
troops, enlisting as a private in Company H, 
Forty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. 
Returning home after the expiration of his 
term of service, Mr. Walker re-enlisted Au- 
gust 23, 1862, as a nine months' man, and 
served until July 29, 1863, when he was hon- 
orably discharged. Mr. Walker then spent 
three years in the stove, tin, and plumbing 
business, and in 1866, having studied book- 
keeping one term at Eastman's Business Col- 
lege in Poughkeepsie, N.V., became a partner 
with Fames & Sprague of this city in the 
same business, three years later selling his 
interest to his partners. At this time Mr. 
Walker had a serious illness, which for a 



while incapacitated him from active labor. 
Since 1870 he has conducted a fire and acci- 
dent insurance agency. He is also an ex- 
tensive dealer in real estate and an author- 
ized agent for the sale of tickets to foreign 
points. 

On February 20, 1868, Mr. Walker married 
Fanny J. Griswold, <>f Springfield, a daughter 
of Joseph and Electa (Warner) Griswold. 
Their pleasant home has been brightened by 
the birth of two children, a daughter and a 
son: Carrie L. is a brilliant student in the 
musical department of Smith College, which 
she entered after being graduated from the 
Northampton High School; Charles W. was 
graduated from Williston Seminary in the 
summer of the present year, 1895, and is now 
pursuing his college course at Amherst. 

In politics Mr. Walker is a stanch member 
of the Republican party; and he is connected 
socially, financially, and religiously with the 
best interests of the city, where he has ac- 
ceptably filled many places of trust and re- 
sponsibility. In 1878 he was elected Secre- 
tary and Treasurer of the Hampshire County 
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, in place of 
Harvey Kirkland, resigned, and ten years later 
was elected Trustee of the Northampton In- 
stitution for Savings, in place of George W. 
Hubbard, deceased. He has also been chair- 
man of the Civil Service Commission. Mr. 
Walker served as Deacon of the First Congre- 
gational Church one year, has been one of the 
assessors of that parish for ten years, one of 
the Directors of the Young Men's Christian 
Association for several years, and in every 
position has performed his duties with great 
fidelity. He is a Master Mason, having 
joined the Jerusalem Lodge in 1866. Mr. 
Walker has a pleasant home at 29 Pleasant 
Street, the commodious house in which he 
lives, and which was formerly owned by Har- 



558 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



vey Kirkland, having- been built a century 
ago, as shown by the date on the foundation 

si "lie. 



B 



R. FRANK M. GOULD, the lead- 
ing and pioneer physician of Green- 
wich, was born in Norridgewock, 
Somerset County, Me., May 9, 1835, son of 
Joshua and Sarah (Martin) Gould. Moriah 
Gould, his grandfather, was one of the early 
' settlers of Somerset County. He obtained 
sustenance for himself and family from the 
then unexhausted resources of nature, dividing 
his time among farming, hunting, and trap- 
ping. He was an industrious man and fairly 
well-to-do. He lived to the advanced age 
of ninety years. His wife also outlived the 
allotted span of human life. 

Joshua Gould was the only son of his par- 
ents. He was born in Norridgewock, and 
grew to manhood in Somerset County, attain- 
ing a better education than the limited re- 
sources of the time would seem to warrant. 
When a boy of nine years, he suffered from a 
fever, which caused a sore on one of his limbs 
that contracted the cords, and maimed him 
for life, making that limb considerably shorter 
than the other. It may be that his infirmity 
caused Mr. Gould to devote more time to his 
books than an active boy would be likely to. 
However, he was a well-informed man, promi- 
nent in public life and a leader in the coun- 
cils of the Democrats of his district. He 
was Clerk of the District Court for over forty 
years, and served for many years as Justice of 
the Peace. He died at the age of eighty- 
seven. His wife, who Was a native of Pitts- 
field, Me., had attained her sixty-sixth year 
when her death occurred. They had a family 
of thirteen children, twelve of whom reached 
maturity. Of these Moses M., Charles C, 
Emmaline, and Fanny are deceased. The 



others are: Henry A., William D., Aaron M., 
Frank M., Sarah, Ann, Caroline, and Felicia. 
Frank M. Gould, M.D., received his early 
education in the schools of Norridgewock. 
One of his schoolmates was the now famous 
preacher, Minot J. Savage. When fifteen 
years of age, he went to Worcester, Mass., 
to learn the machinist's trade. There he 
met with financial disaster by the failure of a 
firm for which he had worked two years and 
nine months, leaving his wages unpaid. He 
was subsequently employed for some years in 
the locomotive works in Portland, Me., and 
later worked on stationary engines in Bangor. 
He next engaged with the Putney Tool Com- 
pany at Fitchburg, Mass., going from there to 
Barre, in the same State, and thence to the 
Springfield Armory, where during the war 
he was foreman of a department. At that 
time there was an enormous amount of work 
done at the armory, the company turning out 
eleven hundred guns daily for three years. 
Dr. Gould worked last as a machinist for the 
Parker Machine Company of Clinton, Mass., 
manufacturers of the Axminster carpet looms. 
During the years that he worked at his trade 
he won a reputation for expert workmanship. 
While at Worcester, he distinguished himself 
by accomplishing the difficult task of making 
a screw some twenty-five or thirty feet in 
length. Two lathes were necessary for the 
work, and its perfect accomplishment required 
a good mechanical eye and the exercise of fine 
judgment. Though so successful as a ma- 
chinist, Dr. Gould had always had a desire to 
enter the medical profession, and for some 
time had occupied his leisure in reading and 
studying medicine. In 1877 he entered the 
Eclectic Medical College of New York City, 
and graduated in 1880, with high honors, as 
valedictorian of his class. In May of the 
same year he opened an office in Greenwich, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



559 



and for fifteen years has been in active prac- 
tice, with his visiting list yearly increasing. 
The doctor has computed the average distance 
which he travels annually in visiting his pa- 
tients to be fourteen thousand miles. 

Dr. Gould was married in [863 to Eliza A. 
Stone, a native of Dana, Mass., daughter of 
James H. and Azuba Stone, and sister of J. 
Madison Stone, the noted portrait painter. 
Two children were born of this union: James 
!•'., who is in the express business in Plym- 
outh, N.H.; and Fanny M., who graduated 
from Belvidere Seminary, N.J., and is now a 
teacher in Greenwich. 

Politically, Dr. Gould favors the Demo- 
cratic party. Though very busy in answering 
the demands of his profession, he has found 
time to fill various offices. He has served as 
( Iverseer of the Poor and Constable, and is 
now Justice of the Peace. He is a member 
of Mount Zion Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at 
Barre. Dr. and Mrs. Gould hold liberal views 
regarding religious differences. They have a 
pretty home in the village of Greenwich 
Plains, from which they are rarely absent, as 
the Doctor has not had a week's vacation in 
fifteen years. 

«-^»»-» 

"ENRY L. UFFORD, a successful 
farmer and lumberman of North Am- 
L te ^ heist, was born in that town, De- 
cember 17, 1855, son of Lucian M. and Esther 
( Kellogg) Ufford. Mr. Ufford's grandfather 
was a physician. He had a large practice in 
Hampden and East Springfield, and he died 
in the last-named place at an advanced age. 
He married Lydia Morris; and she became the 
mother of six children, of whom two died in 
infancy, and Edward Ufford is now the sole 
survivor. The mother died at a ripe old age. 
Lucian Ufford, Mr. Ufford's father, was 
born in Hampden in 1818. He was engaged 




in different occupations in Hampden, Frank- 
lin, and Hampshire Counties; and for a num- 
ber of years he was an operative in the cotton- 
mills at Ludlow. Flis last years were spent 
in North Amherst, where he died in 18S1. 
His wife, who was born in North Amherst in 

1820, became the mother of six children, as 
follows: Mary, Anna, and Andrew, who are 
now dead; Morris A., a ranchman in New 
Mexico: Lucy, wife of J. B. Roberts, of 
Springfield, Mass. ; and Henry L., the subject 
of this sketch. The mother died in F'ebruary, 
1893. She was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church. 

Henry L. Ufford was educated in the public 
schools of his native town. When a young 
man, he adopted agriculture as an occupation; 
and he has since followed it in connection 
with lumbering. He bought a farm of eighty 
acres, situated in North Amherst; and, after 
adding to it by the purchase of more land, he 
I sold the whole at a profit, ami then invested 
in wood lots. He has been successful in his 
ventures. He now resides at a pleasant home, 
situated on a farm which consists of fifty acres 
of well-improved land. This property, which 
was formerly occupied by his father, has been 
in the possession of Mr. Ufford since i860. 
He is still actively engaged in lumbering, 
keeping a large force of men employed. He 
owns in all about one hundred and fifty acres 
of land. He is a Democrat in politics, and is 
at the present time a member of the Board of 
Selectmen. On June 14, 1882, Mr. Ufford 
was united in marriage to Martha F. Jones, 
born in Pelham, October 1, i8f>2, daughter of 
John and Mary (Oakes ) Jones. John Jones 
was born in Temple, Me., October, 1818: 
and his wife was born there, October 25, 

1821. They now reside with Mrs. Ufford. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ufford have three children, as 

follows: Leonard M., born March 22, 1887; 



560 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Lucian M., born March 27, 1889; and Elsie 
I-:., bom August 10, 1890. Mr. Ufford is 
liberal in his religious views, and Mrs. Ufford 
is a member of the Congregational church. 



fHE JUDD FAMILY has been promi- 
nently identified with the leading in- 
terests of Hampshire County since its 
earliest history. The emigrating ancestor, 
Thomas Judd, came from England to Massa- 
chusetts in 1633 or 1634, and settled in Gam- 
bridge, in that part of the town known then 
as "West End." He built a house, and re- 
mained there two years; but in 1636 he moved 
to Hartford, Conn., whence he went to the 
town of Farmington, being one of the original 
proprietors of that place. He was an exten- 
sive land-owner and an influential citizen, 
being sent to the General Court in 1674. In 
1678 his first wife died; and on December 2, 
1679, he married the widow Clemence Mason, 
of Northampton, to which place he came in 
1682. He was very active in church work, 
and was made Deacon of the church in 1668. 
Deacon Judd died a few years after com- 
ing to Northampton, his death occurring No- 
vember 12, 1 688. His widow survived him, 
dying November 22, 1696. He reared a 
family of nine children, the next in line 
of descent being his eldest son, William 
Judd. 

William Judd, who was married March 30, 
1658, died at Farmington, Conn., in 1690. 
He was known by his military title of Ser- 
geant. His wife bore him seven children. 
She survived him, her death occurring October 
27, 1718. His son Thomas, through whom 
the line continues, was a blacksmith and a 
farmer, and one of the leading men of his time, 
serving as Town Clerk, Deacon of the church, 
Captain of the militia, Justice of the Peace, 



and as a Deputy to the General Court. On 
February 9, 1688, he married Sarah Freeman, 
by whom he had six children, one son, Will- 
iam, and five daughters. 

This second William Judd, who was a Cap- 
tain in the militia and a Representative to the 
General Court, was first married January 21, 
171 3, to Mary Root. After her death, on 
December 10, 1757, he married Mrs. Hope 
Lee. He departed this life January 29, 1772, 
leaving five sons and two daughters, of whom 
Timothy, the eldest son, is the progenitor of 
this branch of the family. 

Timothy Judd was a man of scholarly attain- 
ments, and was graduated from Yale College 
in 1737. His first wife, Mary Clark, whom 
he wedded March 29, 1744, died on the 8th 
of the following November. He then mar- 
ried, October 9, 1749, Mellicent (South) 
Mayo, a widow, who died March 26, 1763. 
On August 8, 1764, he married Ann Sedg- 
wick, who lived but a short time; and after her 
decease he married on June 6, 1780, Mrs. 
Mary Foote. In October, 1782, she passed to 
the life eternal, and later the Widow Clanson 
became his fifth wife. Timothy Judd was a 
man of influence, and served as Justice of the 
Peace from 1765 until 1783, besides holding 
various other offices of trust. He died Janu- 
ary 23, 1796, leaving six children. 

Allyn Judd, son of the above-named Timo- 
thy, was born in 1757, and died in Windsor, 
N.Y., in 1803. In 1776 he married Joanna 
Seymour, who died October 5, 1833, having 
borne him eleven children. Jonathan Judd, 
Jr., son of the Rev. Jonathan Judd, graduated 
at Yale College in 1765. He began trade in 
Southampton in 1769, being the town's first 
merchant. He continued in business here 
for half a century. He was a Justice of the 
Peace, once a Representative to the General 
Court, and was also busy in other public em- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ployments. He died January 30, 18 19, aged 
seventy-five years. 

Frederick Judd, son of the Rev. Jonathan 
Judd, was born January 9, I/60, and married 
Nancy Wait, daughter of Simeon Wait, of 
Southampton, December 15, 1785. He was a 
Representative to the General Court and a Jus- 
tice of the Peace. He died May 23, 1840, 
aged eighty years four months. He had seven 
children. 

Asa Judd, a son of Frederick Judd, suc- 
ceeded his uncle as a trader in Southampton, 
and died here October 20, 1848, aged sixty 
years. On May 13, 18 16, he married Lavinia 
Gridley, who was born October 12, 1792, the 
record of their children being as follows: 
Jonathan, born September 23, 1 8 1 7 ; Anna 
Maria, born February 2, 18 19, married Orrin 
R. More, of Southampton, August 11, 1846, 
their only child being one son, born April 26, 
1853; Cornelia, born June 9, 1820, died Feb- 
ruary 6, 1 841; Zeresh, born November iS, 
1822, died May 15, 1823; Zeresh Jane, born 
March 12, 1824, was for many years a school- 
teacher in this vicinity; Ard Gridley, born 
November 22, 1825; and William D., born 
March 1, 1828. 

Jonathan N. Judd succeeded his father, Asa, 
in the store and post-office, remaining here 
until his death, July 11, 1861, aged forty- 
three years. He was a Justice of the Peace, 
Town Clerk and Treasurer, Selectman, and 
a member of the Congregational church. 
He was honored and esteemed by his towns- 
people as a man far above the average, 
one whose business capacity was superior, 
and whose counsel was recognized by all as 
valuable. 

Arc! Gridley Judd succeeded his brother 
Jonathan N. in business here, and was ap- 
pointed Postmaster in 1861, having been con- 
nected with the office ever since. He was 



Town Treasurer during the trying days of the 
Civil War, is a member of the Congregational 
church and parish, and a faithful supporter of 
both organizations, and a stanch Republican in 
politics. He has been uncommonly success- 
ful in business, gaining a substantial compe- 
tence, while retaining the respect and good 
will of his townsmen. He and his sister, 
Jane Z. Judd, still occupy the old homestead 
in Southampton where they were born. Jane 
Z. fudd received an education in the common 
schools and Sheldon Academy, afterward fol- 
lowing the vocation of a school-teacher, in 
which she was unusually proficient and suc- 
cessful. She is a member of the Congrega- 
tional church, prominent and active in its 
service. 

William D. Judd grew to manhood in 
Southampton, and began his active work as 
book-keeper at Feeds, in this county, remain- 
ing a few years, when he accepted a similar 
position with C. P. Talbot, of Lowell, Mass., 
where he lived five years. Returning then to 
Western Massachusetts, he was engaged in the 
boot and shoe business in Greenfield for two 
years, coming back to the place of his nativity 
in 1857, dying here March 4, 1858, of con- 
sumption, resulting from pneumonia. While 
a resident of Lowell, in 1851, he was united 
in marriage with Malvina A. Carleton, a na- 
tive of that city, where her birth occurred, 
October 13, 1828. Their only child, Freder- 
ick Eugene, was born in Lowell, Mass., 
March 30, 1852. 

Frederick E. Judd was reared and educated 
in the city of Lowell, Mass., being graduated 
from the high school. After completing his 
education, he entered the employment of 
a Boston firm as book-keeper, continuing in 
that business several years. Mr. Judd then 
removed to Northampton, where he spent a 
year, coming thence to Southampton in 1872. 



5 6 - 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Since liis residence here he has won the re- 
spect ami confidence of his fellow-citizens, 
being deservedly popular throughout the com- 
munity. His business tact and sound judg- 
ment are widely recognized, and he has served 
in various offices of responsibility. In 1877 
he was chosen Town Clerk, a position which 
he has since held, and for the past five years 
has been Town Treasurer, and is one of the 
Trustees of the Easthampton Savings Bank. 
He is now copartner in the firm of A. G. 
Judd & Co. In politics he is a steadfast 
Republican; and, religiously, he and his wife 
belong to the Congregational church, of which 
he is organist, as well as parish clerk. He is 
a member of Ionic Lodge of A. F. & A. M. 
On September 12, 1889, Mr. Judd was united 
in marriage with Miss Catherine E. Parsons, 
who is a native of Southampton. Mrs. Judd 
was born February 13, 1858, of pioneer an- 
cestry, being the daughter of Isaac and Rachel 
C. (Edmands) Parsons. She graduated at 
Mount Holyoke College, June 24, 1880. Two 
bright and active children enliven the home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Judd, namely: Helen Kath- 
rina, born October 22, 1891 ; and William 
Frederick, born May 20, 1893. 



lUGENE PRENTISS BARTLET, of 
Pelham, a Director and superintendent 
of the Montague City Rod Manufac- 
tory, was born in Pelham, January 1, 1853, 
son of Marshall and Abigail (Warren) Bartlet. 
Mr. Bartlet's ancestors were early settlers in 
Enfield, Mass., where they were engaged in 
agriculture. Marshall Bartlet, Mr. Bartlet's 
father, was born in Enfield, and was a son of 
Gideon Bartlet. He settled in Pelham in 
1845, and followed his trade of shoemaking 
during the active period of his life. He was 
an industrious worker and an estimable man. 




In politics he was a Republican, while he 
held liberal religious views. Marshall Bart- 
let died in Amherst at the age of seventy-two 
years. His wife, who was a descendant of 
General Warren of Revolutionary fame, was 
born at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. She 
became the mother of ten children, as follows: 
Erastus; Livingston, a resident of Amherst; 
Calista, wife of Henry Wheeler, of Hartford, 
Conn. ; Joseph F., a resident of Turner's 
Falls, Mass. ; Myron M., who resides in 
Belchertown; Leander L., of Montague City; 
Henrietta, wife of Edwin Wade, of Ludlow; 
Carrie, wife of Charles Aldridge, of Keene, 
N.H.; Eugene P., the subject of this sketch; 
and Lora, wife of Charles Engel, of Spring- 
field, Mass. The mother died at the age of 
sixty-eight years. 

Eugene Prentiss Bartlet commenced at an 
early age to contribute toward his own sup- 
port. When thirteen years old, he became 
farm boy for Marcus Daniels in Wilbraham, 
receiving twenty-five dollars for his season's 
work. He then found employment in the 
Hills Company's factory in Amherst. The 
Hills were then the exclusive manufacturers 
of Shaker hoods, and Mr. Bartlet was with 
them at different times during the space of 
three years. He next went to Tinner's Falls, 
where he was engaged with his brothers in 
learning the painter's trade. He continued 
at that occupation for three years. In [872 
he entered the employment of Gray & Sons, 
fishing rod manufacturers, receiving at first 
seventy-five cents per day. His wages were 
increased as he advanced in proficiency; and 
in less than a year after entering the factory 
he was receiving two dollars per day. Though 
he commenced in a humble capacity, he made 
such rapid progress through the various de- 
partments that on January 1, 1874, he was 
made superintendent of the factory. He later 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



became a stockholder in the concern, and 
finally obtained possession of the whole busi- 
ness. He subsequently enlarged the factory, 
and placed it in the hands of a stock company, 
known as the Montague City Rod Manufactory. 
Although Mr. Bartlet is a large stockholder and 
a Director, he continues to act as superintend- 
ent; and each department is conducted under 
his personal supervision. The company has 
factories located in Pelham, Montague City, 
M;tss., and in Postville, Yt., and manufactures 
all kinds of fishing rods except steel ones. 
The Pelham factory employs forty-five work- 
men the year round. Its products are shipped 
to various parts of New England and to New 
York City. During the season of 1S93 and 
1894 this factory alone completed seventy- 
five thousand rods, of two hundred and fifty 
different styles. This concern is one of the 
largest of its kind in the United States, and its 
present flourishing condition is due principally 
to the skill and business ability of Mr. Bartlet. 

Mr. Bartlet is a Republican in politics, and 
has served as a Selectman and Assessor for 
two terms. He is a member of Pacific Lodge. 
A. F. & A. M., and of the Northampton Com- 
mandery. 

On Jul}' .X, 1874, Mr. Bartlet was united in 
marriage to Jennie Ward, daughter of Joseph 
and Amanda A. Ward. Joseph Ward was a 
prosperous farmer and a lifelong resident of 
Pelham. He owned and operated a stone 
quarry, and was a well-known citizen. He 
died in Pelham, at over seventy years of age. 
His wife, who survives him, now resides with 
Mr. Bartlet. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlet have two 
children, namely: Lotta A., wife of R. M. 
Aldridge, who is employed in the factory; 
and Jessie E., who resides at home. Mr. 
Bartlet contributes liberally to the support of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, of which 
Mrs. Bartlet is a member. 



(e>TNDREW N. THORINGTON, turnkey 
tjA of the Hampshire County Jail at 
'*» V_^ Northampton for the past twelve 
years, was born in Sturbridge, Worcester 
County, Mass., June 6, 1844. the only child 
ot Andrew B. and Mary (Haskell) Thorington. 
He comes of heroic Revolutionary stock, his 
great-grandfather, William Thorington, hav- 
ing been a soldier of the Revolutionary army. 
His name was written on the muster roll as 
William Thornton, and his widow was obliged 
to use that name in applying for a pension. 
After the close of the great struggle he set- 
tled in Rensselaer Count}. New York, where 
his son Abraham, grandfather of the present 
Mr. Thorington, was born. 

Abraham Thorington was reared to farming. 
After his marriage with Miss Breninthol, 
whose father came over from Germany as a 
stowaway on one of the large sailing-vessels, 
he purchased a farm in Pittstown, Rensselaer 
Count}-, where he engaged in general farming 
during the remainder of his life. His wife 
died in 1849, aged threescore years. His 
death occurred some ten years later, at the age 
of seventy years. They reared two sons and 
two daughters, of whom the only one now liv- 
ing is Mrs. Elizabeth Dean, a widow residing 
in Iowa. Andrew B. Thorington was born at 
Troy, N.Y., in September, 1X22. In 1840, 
before reaching his majority, he was united in 
marriage with Mai}- Haskell, a native ot 
Whitingham, Yt., where their union 
celebrated. He was a farmer by occupation, 
and lived in Massachusetts main- years of his 
life, finally locating in. Charlemont, where he 
departed this life in March, 1895. His wife 
died in 1882, aged sixty-one years. 

Andrew N. Thorington, the subject of this 
short biography, received a good education. 
At the age of eighteen years he left home. 
and became an attendant in the Asylum for 



5 G I 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the Insane in Northampton, at first under the 
instruction of Dr. Prince, but subsequently 
under the regime of Dr. Pliny Earle. He 
has been engaged in similar work much of 
his lifetime, having been with Dr. Shaw in 
Middletown, Conn., and in Worcester under 
Dr. Bemis. He was a salesman in Malone, 
N.Y., for two years, and an employee in a 
shoe factory at Brookfield, Mass., for a time. 
In August, 1883, he accepted his present 
position, in which he has given general satis- 
faction. 

On August 4, 1887, Mr. Thorington was 
married to Clara E. Cooley, one of the eight 
children of the late Calvin Cooley. They 
have one son, Carl Haskell Thorington, now 
three years old. Politically, Mr. Thorington 
is a steadfast Republican. He is a Knight 
Templar and a Past Sachem of the tribe of 
Red Men. He is also a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and has been Junior 
Vice-Commander of the William L. Baker 
Post, No. 66. He was a soldier in the late 
Civil War, having enlisted from Shelburne 
Falls, July 21, 1864, in the Sixtieth Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry, going out as a 
one hundred days' man. 



"ONATHAN E. PORTER, of Hatfield, 
Mass., manufacturer of the Porter 
lathe, was born in this town on No- 
vember 22, 1849, ' n tne house where C. Bard- 
well now lives. He is a son of Moses C. and 
Emily (Porter) Porter. 

This branch of the Porter family traces its 
ancestral line to John Porter, who came to 
this country from England more than two hun 
died and fifty years ago, and settled in Wind- 
sor, Conn., in 1639. His will, dated April 
20, 1648, and which is copied in the Colonial 
Records of Connecticut, vol. i., makes be- 



quests to eight- children; namely, John, 
James, Samuel, Nathaniel, Rebecca, Rose, 
Mary, Anna. Samuel, the third son, who was 
born in 1639 and died in 1689, was one of 
the first settlers in Hadley, Mass. He and 
his wife reared a family of ten children; 
namely, Samuel, Thomas, Hezekiah, John, 
Hannah, Mehitabel, Experience, Ichabod, 
Nathaniel, and Thomas. Ichabod, son of 
Samuel, was born June 17, 1678. He mar- 
ried, settled in Hatfield, and became the 
father of seven children: Dorcas, Mehitabel, 
Ichabod, Hannah, Mary, James, and Sarah. 

James Porter, younger son of Ichabod, was 
born in Hatfield, September 19, 1714. With 
the exception of his service in the war of the 
Revolution, his life was spent in agricultural 
pursuits. He married Miss Eunice Belden, 
who bore him five children: Hannah, Jona- 
than, Submit, David, and Silas. 

Jonathan, son of James, born in 1752, mar- 
ried Ruth Chapin; and they reared the follow- 
ing children: Reuben, Eunice, Elizabeth, 
Ruth, Jonathan, Samuel, Chester, and Anna. 
Jonathan Porter, Jr., whose birth occurred in 
January, 1789, started in life as a poor boy. 
He eventually became the owner of the place 
known as the E. Billings farm, and by indus- 
try and good business management he ac- 
quired a good amount of property. He was a 
leader in town affairs, and also took great 
interest in religious matters, being a member 
of the Congregational church. He served in 
the War of 1812, in which he held the rank 
of Major. He married in 1818 Electa Allis; 
and their union was blessed by the birth of 
five children, as follows: Moses Chapin, 
Henry Smith, Sophia Allis, Jonathan Dwight, 
and James. He died in 1864, at the age of 
seventy-five years, and his wife in 1855, at 
sixty-three years of age. 

Moses C. Porter, son of Jonathan and Electa 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



567 



(Allis) Porter, was born December 30, 1819. 
Like his predecessors, he turned his attention 
to agriculture, purchasing the S. Bardwell 
place, where he engaged in farming with good 
results, and became a progressive and enter- 
prising citizen of the town. In 1876 he moved 
to Amherst, and there lived practically re- 
tired from active business. His first wife, 
Emily Porter, died at thirty-seven years of 
age, leaving three children: Augusta A., who 
married Myron Graves; Jonathan E. ; and 
Muses, who died at nine years of age. The 
father married for his second wife Miss Louisa 
15. Bridgman, who is still living. He was 
sixty-eight years old at the time of his death. 

Jonathan E. Porter received his education 
in Hatfield and at Powers Institute. At 
twenty years of age he went West, hoping to 
find there a more desirable place for his life 
work; but, his expectations not being realized, 
he returned home, and entered into partner- 
ship with the Prescott Pistol Company, with 
which he was associated for seven years. He 
then purchased a water-power and foundry of 
II. Poiter. In 1876 the foundry burned 
down, and soon after he sold the north side 
and one-half of the water-power to C. S. Shat- 
t'uck ; and still later he sold the other side. 
He hired the upper story of Mr. Shattuck's 
factor)', and began the manufacture of the 
well-known Porter lathe. In the present fac- 
tory, which was erected in 1884, seventy-five 
hands are employed ; and they turn out about 
thirty-five machines per month. Mr. Potter 
does the selling, and travels as far West as 
Denver, Col., to which point he makes four 
trips yearly. Mr. Porter also rents and runs 
a grist-mill, where he does custom grinding, 
and deals in grain and hay. 

Miss Mary D. Smith, who became the wife 
of Mr. Porter on December 13, 1871, was 
born February 7, 1850, and is a daughter of 



Silas and Eliza (Williams) Smith. Mrs. 
Porter's grandfather served in the Revolu- 
tionary War. Her father was a farmei 
throughout his life. She was one of a family 
of seven children; namely, Emma E., George 
Y., Mary D., Prank IL, Alice W.. Fred L., 
anil Kittie L. Mr. and Mrs. Porter's union 
has been blessed by the birth of two children: 
Mary E., who was born July 3, 1877, and died 
on October 4 of that year: and Helen L., who 
was born June 27, 1878. 

A faithful portrait of Mr. Porter appears on 
the page opposite the beginning of the fore- 
going sketch of one of the old and substant ial 
families of Hampshire County. 



JUSTUS HOLLAND KINGSLEY, the 

worthy descendant of an old and hon- 
ored family of Hampshire County, was 
born December 30, 1842, in Westhampton, 
where he is now a conspicuous figure in the 
farming community. His father, the late 
Zenas Kingsley, was a native of Westhamp- 
ton, and for many years carried on an exten- 
sive business in the manufacture of woollen 
goods, and was also identified with the farm- 
ing interests of this town. In the latter pari 
of his life he removed to Stratfdrd, Coo 
County, N.H., there becoming interested in 
the lumber business, continuing thus engaged 
until his demise in 1881. To him and his 
wife, formerly Susan Elwell, nine children 
were born, namely: Susan M., wife of Hum 
M. Parsons, of Northampton; Edward \\\. ol 
Westhampton; Joseph II. , of whom a short 
sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; Cyn- 
thia S., who married Charles Clark, both she 
and her husband being now deceased; Zenas 
Mahlon, a soldier in the late Civil War, who 
died in his country's service; Nelson II. . el 
Riverside, Cal. : Ellen V., widow of the late 



5 68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Enoch Perkins, of Northampton; Justus Hol- 
land ; and Fidelia M. 

Justus H. Kingsley was reared and edu- 
cated in this town: but, when his father re- 
moved to New Hampshire, he accompanied 
him thither, remaining with him, assisting him 
in his labors, and caring for him in his last 
days. In 1886 Mr. Kingsley and his sister 
Fidelia returned to the home of their child- 
hood years, and here bought their present farm 
of two hundred acres, on which they have 
since resided. Mr. Kingsley takes a genuine 
interest in tilling the soil, and is continually 
making substantial improvements on his es- 
tate, rendering it one of the best in point of 
equipments of any in the locality. He pays 
especial attention to the raising of choice 
fruits, besides which his principal productions 
are hay and corn, his harvests being large and 
profitable. A Republican in his political 
affiliations, Mr. Kingsley is an earnest sup- 
porter of the principles of that party; and, 
religiously, both he and his sister are valued 
and esteemed members of the Congregational 
church. As citizens and neighbors they are 
held in high regard throughout the commu- 
nity. 



■*■+ •*■* 



-OHN B. EWING, who is living retired 
from the active pursuits of life on his 
snug little farm in Southampton, is a 
self-made man, having risen by his own efforts 
from a condition of comparative poverty to one 
of affluence. He was born in County Donegal, 
Ireland, September 24, 1828, son of Samuel 
and Sarah (O'Donnell) Ewing, both also 
natives of Ireland. The father was a black- 
smith by trade, and with his wife and two of 
his children emigrated to America in 1852. 
Landing in New York he stayed there but one 
night before he started for Easthampton, where 
he lived several years, and where his wife 



died in 1857. She bore him four children, as 
follows: Mary, born in Ireland, December 18, 
1824, who there married William Ewing, 
came with him to this country, located in 
Easthampton, where they carried on general 
fanning, and reared a family of eleven chil- 
dren; John B., the subject of this review; 
William A., born January 21, 1831, married 
to Margaret Thompson, father of seven chil- 
dren, who subsequently emigrated with his 
family to Massachusetts, and is at present liv- 
ing on a farm in Indiana; and Samuel, the 
youngest child, born in 1834, who is now liv- 
ing in Chicago, 111. The wife of the latter, 
formerly Mary J. Crawford, died leaving him 
with six children. 

John B. Ewing spent the first years after his 
arrival in this country in Easthampton. He 
came to Southampton in 1S57 to enter the 
employment of Mr. O. N. Clark, carriage 
manufacturer, working for him five years. 
Mr. Ewing, having by that time become a 
skilled workman, bought the shop, and thence- 
forward carried on a successful business in the 
manufacture of wagons, sleighs, and buggies 
until June 1, 1895. At that time he leased 
the shop and practically retired from business, 
although he pays some attention to his farming 
interests. The many years he has spent in 
exhausting toil, as well as the easy circum- 
stances he now enjoys, ample justify him in 
spending the remainder of his life in repose. 
In politics Mr. Ewing is a zealous advocate of 
Republican principles. He has served his 
fellow-townsmen as Constable and on the 
Grand Jury in Boston. 

On January 20, 1852, Mr. Ewing was 
united in marriage with Miss Flora Butler, a 
native of Ireland, born in 1834. Her father, 
who was a farmer in Ireland, married Margaret 
Cary, and emigrated to the United States, set- 
tling in Easthampton, where he found employ- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



569 



ment in a factory. Mr. and Mrs. Ewing had 
six children, as follows: Anna Jane, born 
April 24, [858, who is the wife of Charles O. 
Lyon, of this town, and who has borne her 
husband three children, of whom Helena B. 
and Marion C. are still living; Sarah M., born 
in June, 1859, married to Henry B. Norton, 
overseer on a farm in Southampton, and 
mother of one child, Hiram; Flora B., born 
October 4, i860, wife of Arthur H. Searle, a 
farmer, and mother of three children — Flora 
Helen, Frank Arthur, and Hazel ; Frank 
Samuel, born January 1, 1863, married to Es- 
talla Clapp, of Southampton, where he is em- 
ployed as a clerk in the general store of A. G. 
Judd; Elrzabeth R., born in 1864, married to 
Ralph M. Fowler (proprietor of a meat market 
at Northampton), and mother of two children 
- Maynard and Helen; and Elizabeth R., who 
died in infancy. Mrs. Ewing, the devoted wife 
and tender mother, passed away in 1888, leav- 
ing the home desolate. She was a woman of 
high Christian character, and, with her hus- 
band, was a conscientious member of the Con- 
gregational church. The remarkable success 
that has followed Mr. Ewing throughout his 
business career is entirely due to his own 
efforts. No doubt the stability of purpose, 
straightforwardness of disposition, and good 
business habits for which he is known have 
been influential agents in bringing about the 
result. 



{®r< 



KORGE B. CANTERBURY, a retired 
V \3 I farmer of Ware, is a native of this 
town, where his birth occurred in 
1837, and a son of Henry ami Melintha 
(Leach) Canterbury. Henry Canterbury, born 
in Hingham, Mass., in 1799, who was a suc- 
cessful agriculturist of Ware, married for his 
first wife a daughter of Joseph Hawes, of Mon- 
son, Mass. ; and their union was blessed by 



the birth of five children. After her death, 
which occurred at an early age, he married 
Miss Melintha Leach, born in Belchertown, 
Mass., about the year (809, who outlived him 
five years. Of this marriage there were born 
a son and daughter, George B. and Elizabeth, 
the latter residing in Ware. Their father 
died in 1S84, eighty-five years of age. 

George B. Canterbury graduated from the 
public schools of Ware. He then learned the 
trade of a mason, at which he was employed 
until the commencement of the Civil War. 
On November 20, 1 86 1 , he enlisted in Com- 
pany D of the Thirty-first Massachusetts Regi- 
ment, and was appointed Third Sergeant of 
his company. On May 8, 1863, he was 
wounded at Sabine Cross-roads, being shot 
through the lungs and liver. While disabled 
in this way he was taken prisoner and confined 
in the rebel prison at Mansfield, La., for ten 
months. He was then paroled, and returned to 
his home on a sixty days' furlough. After 
three years of service he was honorably (lis 
charged. By this time he had been promoted 
to the rank of First Sergeant, anil was brevetted 
as First Lieutenant. For fifteen years prior 
to making his home in Ware he conducted a 
large dairy farm in the town of Hardwick, 
Worcester County, where he was one of the 
most progressive farmers of that sett ion, 
and put in the first creamery used in that vicin- 
ity. He sold this establishment in February, 
1895. 

On August 9, 1864, he was married to Mi>> 
Martha J. Esterbrook, of I [olden, Mass., .t 
daughter of Josiah Esterbrook. She bore her 
husband three children, namely: Maud S. , 
who married Emery Barnes, of Ware, and died 
June I, 1893, the third day after her mother's 
death ; Grace, who is the second wile of 
Emery Barnes; and Alvah G. Canterbury, a 
successful engineer, who married Miss Grace 



57° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Campbell, of Ware. Their mother was fifty- 
four years of age at the time of her death. 
Mr. Canterbury is a stanch Republican. He 
has served as Constable for eleven years, and 
during his residence in Hardwick he was Road 
Commissioner for three years. He has also 
served on the police force in Ware for fifteen 
years, during which period he proved himself 
one of the most efficient and vigilant officers 
the town has had. He is a Master Mason, and 
is a member of J. W. Lawton Post, No. 85, 
Grand Army of the Republic, of which he has 
served as Adjutant. He is now residing with 
his daughter, Mrs. Barnes, in Ware. 



7~yiARLES S. PRATT, a retired ar- 
I jf chitect and builder, living at North- 

^ i? ^ ampton, was born in that town, 
February 16, 1822, son of Thomas and Eunice 
(Parsons) Pratt. Thomas Pratt was born in 
East Boston, Mass., in 1784, and was one of 
the most competent architects and builders of 
his time. He had excellent taste, great skill, 
and was a workman of superior merit. He 
was a soldier in the War of 181 2. In that 
year he settled in Northampton; and his third 
wife, now a willow- eighty-seven years of age, 
still resides there. In 1813 he married for 
his first wife Eunice Parsons, a native of this 
place. They had seven sons and one daugh- 
ter, all of whom except one son grew to adult 
life, and reared families. Three of them are 
still living, namely: William F., an architect 
in Northampton; Levi L., an editor in Water- 
town, N.Y., aged eighty-one years; and 
Charles S., of this notice. The father fol- 
lowed his profession during his years of activ- 
ity. Many of the present dwellings and 
public buildings of this and other cities were 
planned and built by him. Mount Holyoke 
College, Easthampton church, and a magnifi- 



cent mansion just outside of the city of Balti- 
more, Md., which he was two years in com- 
pleting, are fair samples of his work. He was 
proficient in every branch of his business, from 
the turning of the grindstone to the most 
exacting demands of architecture. With his 
fine mental qualities he possessed great physi- 
cal strength and endurance, and was blessed 
with robust health, retaining all his teeth in 
a sound condition throughout his life. He 
was very prominent in public affairs, and 
twice represented his district in the legislat- 
ure. His second wife was before marriage 
Pamelia Parsons, no relative of his first wife. 
No children were born of this or of his last 
marriage. 

Charles S. Pratt received but a limited com- 
mon-school education, having begun, when 
only fifteen years old, to learn the carpenter's 
trade. He followed this occupation continu- 
ously for some forty-five years, erecting many 
of the fine buildings and residences of his na- 
tive city and winning the reputation of a 
first-class workman. He has inherited the 
physical constitution as well as the mental 
characteristics of his father. Now, at the age 
of seventy-three years, he is a finely preserved 
man. He is held in high consideration by 
his neighbors and friends. 

In 1847 Mr. Pratt was united in wedlock 
with Rachel M. Stickney, a native of South 
Hadley and daughter of Walter Stickney. 
After a happy wedded life of more than two- 
score years she died in 1890, in the sixty- 
ninth year of her age. She bore her husband 
four children, as follows: Mary Ann, who 
died in infancy; Charles S., Jr., unmarried, 
an architect of this city and the superintend- 
ent of the fire alarm; George S., who went 
West, supposed to be deceased, as he has 
never been heard from since; and Hattie 
Howard, living at home, who has been a sue- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



57i 



cessful teacher in the grammar school for the 
past ten or more years. Mr. Pratt has devoted 
much of his time to Free Masonry, being one of 
the oldest Knights Templars of Northampton 
and a member of the Chapter. Politically, 
he has been a lifelong Democrat. He has 
served the city in the capacities of Assistant 
and Chief Engineer for twenty years, during 
which period he proved himself an efficient 
and trustworthy officer in every respect. His 
residence, which is one of the most substantial 
in the city, was built by his father about 
eighty-three years ago. 



"ir>vARWIN E. LYMAN, a prosperous 
I I merchant of Cummington, Mass., 
<~-<mmS was born in that town, July 26, 
1846, son of Benjamin B. and Roxana (Pack- 
ard) Lyman. This branch of the Lyman fam- 
ily in America started with Richard Lyman, 
who was born in old England in 1580. On 
coming to this country, he settled in Con- 
necticut, where he died in 1640. 

Beginning with him, the succeeding lineal 
representatives were: 'Robert, born in 1629; 
John, born in 1660; and Gad, who was born 
in i/ij- Gad settled in Goshen, Mass.: and 
his son Timothy became the father of John 
C, whose birth occurred in Northampton in 
1 77 5 . The last named was the grandfather of 
Darwin E. Lyman. He first settled in the 
town of Cummington, where L. Steel now 
lives, and later purchased the farm of one hun- 
dred and fifty acres which is now the property 
of P. P. Lyman. He erected a house there, 
which lias since been burned, and which stood 
opposite the present one. He was a man of 
thrift and enterprise, and before his death he 
had brought his farm into an excellent state 
of cultivation. He became the father of 
five children, namely: Coleston, who died in 



childhood; Benjamin P.: Hannah; Christie; 
and Susan. 

Benjamin 1!. Lyman was a native ol 
Goshen, Mass., where his birth took place on 
September 17, 1807. At his father's death he 
purchased the old homestead in Cummington, 
where he devoted his time and attention to 
stock-raising, making a specialty of sheep- 
raising. He built the house now standing. 
In his political relations he was a Republi- 
can, and in religious belief he was orthodox 
and a member of the Congregational church. 
His wife was a daughter of Philander Packard. 
They were the parents of six children; 
namely, William C, Philander, Agnes, Flora, 
AK in. and Darwin E. William C, the el- 
dest-born, entered the United States Navy in 
1 86 1 as Assistant Surgeon, but was soon after 
promoted to the position of Head Surgeon, and 
served as such until the close of the Civil 
War. He then went to Chicago, 111., where 
he was employed for nine years as physician 
and surgeon in the hospital, after which for 
thirteen years he was chairman of the Board 
of Pension Examiners. He ranked high as an 
authority in medical and surgical matters. 
During his war service he had the yellow 
fever, from which he never fully recovered; 
and in 1879 he died, when but forty-two years 
of age. He married Miss Kate Hamlin, who 
survived him, and is now engaged as clerk in 
the Interior Department at Washington, D.C. 

Darwin E. Lyman, the youngest child of 
his parents, began at the age of twenty-one 
years to clerk in the store of L. Orcutt, for 
whom he worked two years: and then, in com- 
pany with C. W. Streeter, he bought out his 
employer, and for six years they conducted ,1 
general store with much success. At the 
end of that time he purchased his partner's 
interest, and thereafti 1 1 arried on the business 
alone. In [888 he bought the N. F. Orcutt 



57 2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



house and store, and moved his store from the 
lower part of the village to its present site, 
where he has one of the best country establish- 
ments of the kind in Hampshire County. On 
August 8, 1894, he was burned out. By the 
17th of September he had a store ready for oc- 
cupancy, and by the 1st of February, 1895, 
had completed his fine new residence, store, 
storehouse, and barns. His stock comprises 
as good an assortment as is to be found any- 
where in that section of the State. 

On November 20, 1870, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Julia S. Stevens, daughter 
of Lafayette and Laura (Packard) Stevens, 
and who conducts a millinery store in Cum- 
in ington. They have a son and daughter. 
The son, Eugene W., born April 4, 1872, a 
graduate of Amherst College, who in 1894 
taught in Williston Seminary, is now an in- 
structor at Lawrenceville, N.J., in a prepara- 
tory school where young men are fitted for col- 
lege. The daughter, Laura A., born May 5, 
1874, is a member of the Junior class at 
Smith College, where she is preparing to be- 
come a teacher. 

Mr. Lyman is a stanch Republican. He 
has held the town office of Selectman since 
1886, and with the exception of the first two 
years has acted as chairman of that board. 
He is a member of the Morning Star Lodge 
of A. F. & A. M. of Conway, Mass. 




ILLIAM L. CHILSON, Postmaster 
of Swift River, a well-known mer- 
chant and manufacturer, was born 
in Southampton, Mass., October 28, 1858, son 
of William W. and Sarah L. (Ludden) Chil- 
son. Mr. Chilson's great-grandfather, Asaph 
Chilson, who was a native of Wales, emi- 
grated to America, and settled in Albany, 
N.Y., where he followed the trade of a weaver. 



His children were: Lucretia, Huldah, Nabby, 
John, and Asaph. John Chilson, who seems 
to have been the elder son, was born in Al- 
bany in October, 1785. He was one of the 
early teamsters between Albany and Boston ; 
but, after going over the route many times, he 
bought a small farm in Buck land, Franklin 
County, Mass., upon which he settled, and re- 
sided there until his death, which occurred at 
a good old age. John Chilson married Cla- 
rissa Butler, daughter of Levi Butler, of Buck- 
land; and their children were: Haines IL, 
Milo C, Nancy, Andrew M., Clarissa, Will- 
iam W., Elizabeth, and another child, who 
died young. 

William W. Chilson was born in Bucklaml, 
Mass., November 15, 1824. He adopted ag- 
riculture as an occupation; and, after working 
upon different farms in that locality, he pur- 
chased a small farm in Easthampton, Hamp- 
shire County, but sold it shortly, and bought 
another in Goshen, Mass., which he cultivated 
successfully for twenty years. He then ex- 
changed his Goshen farm for his present prop- 
erty in the village of Swift River, and has 
since resided here. In 1867 Mr. Chilson 
received injuries the result of which has 
caused him considerable disability ; but, pos- 
sessing a strong constitution, he is otherwise 
in good health. He is a Democrat in poli- 
tics. 

On January 21, 1855, William W. Chilson 
married Sarah L. Ludden, of Southampton. 
Mrs. Chilson was born November 2, 1838, 
daughter of Edwin C. and Elizabeth L. 
(Thorp) Ludden, the former of whom was a 
real estate owner and a farmer, and was also 
engaged in butchering. Mr. and Mrs. Will- 
iam W. Chilson have seven children, as fol- 
lows:. Milo B., who married Mary Demmond ; 
William L., the subject of this sketch; Rose 
E. J., wife of Lewis Ferdj Lizzie S., wife 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5 73 



of Charles Small; Edward A., who married 
Nellie A. McCoy; Juliet E., wife of George 
Preston; and Clara M. Mrs. Sarah L. Chil- 
son is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 

William L. Chilson was educated in the 
schools of Southampton and Goshen. In 
1884 he bought the H. G. Wells property in 
Swift River, which he remodelled and en- 
larged by building an addition ; and in this he 
opened a general store, the first to be estab- 
lished here, where he continues to conduct a 
profitable business. In 1891, in company 
with H. G. Reed, he purchased the manufact- 
uring establishment and water privilege of 
the Crosby Company, which included two 
tenement-houses, and engaged in the manu- 
facture of tool handles of every description, 
gauge-cocks, radiator valve handles of the fin- 
est finish, also carrying on a general sawing 
and planing business. The mills are equipped 
with improved machinery; and, in case the 
water supply fails, there is a thirty-horse 
power engine in readiness to be used as a sub- 
stitute. Native beech, birch, and maple woods 
are used in their products, and also rosewood, 
which they import. A force of twelve men 
is constantly employed, and the business is 
firmly established and favorably known. Mr. 
Chilson likewise carries on tine jewelry repair- 
ing business at his store, and he is a licensed 
auctioneer. He is a Republican in politics, 
and in 1891 was appointed Postmaster of 
Swift River, a position which he still holds. 

On October 16, 1884, Mr. Chilson was 
united in marriage with Susan E. Willcott, 
daughter of Alvin and Mary A. (Crosby) 
Willcott, the former of whom was a prosper- 
ous farmer of Swift River. Mr. and .Mrs. 
Chilson have two children: William Leroy 
and Wallace S. Mr. Chilson is a Congrega- 
tionalist in religion. 



EUCAS WILLIAMS, formerly a mer- 
chant tailor and coal dealer of Am- 
_ w^ herst, Mass., now living in retire- 
ment, was born in the town of Huntington, 
August 23, 1822, son of Samuel and Susan 
(Wight) Williams, respectively natives of 
Huntington and Dedham, Mass. 

His grandfather, Isaac Williams, was one 
of the early settlers of Huntington, where he 
followed the calling of a farmer. He reared 
a family of three sons and two daughters, all 
of whom lived to marry. Samuel Williams 
grew to manhood in Huntington; and, like 
his father, he also engaged in agriculture. 
He was diligent in his work, and was esteemed 
by his neighbors. He and his wife were con- 
stant attendants at the Congregational church, 
ot which she was a member. In politics he 
was a Whig. Lucas Williams is now the 
sole survivor of the nine children born to his 
parents. Those deceased are: Edward; S. 
Dwight : John; Lucius, the twin brother of 
Lucas; and Susan L. Three died in infancy. 
Their father's death occurred at Huntington 
when he was seventy-two years of age. 11 is 
wife died at the same age. Lucas Williams 
lived in Huntington until he was sixteen 
years of age, acquiring a good practical educa- 
tion in the common schools. In 1840 he 
came to Amherst, where he began to learn 
the trade of a tailor under the instruction of 
Thompson Kimberly, with whom he remained 
about four years. He next went to Barre, 
Mass., where he was engaged at his trade for 
four and a half years. Following that he 
moved to Huntington, where he remained for 
a brief period, and later spent a short time in 
Northampton. In [849 he established himself 
in business in South Hadley. He conducted 
it successfully for six anil a half years, when, 
in 1856, he returned to Amherst. Here he 
carried on the business of a merchant tailor 



574 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



until 1869, at which time he was succeeded 

by his nephew, 15. H. Williams. In 1870 
he severed all connection with the business. 
1'rior to 1876 he was fur three years engaged 
as a coal dealer, but since that time he has 
lived a retired life. He owns half of the 
large business block in which his residence is 
located. His means are amply sufficient to 
maintain him in comfort without further 
labor. 

He was first married in 1865 to Mrs. Eliza 
C. Barrows. She died in 1890; and in 
March, 1892, he entered into a second mar- 
riage with Mrs. Florence E. (Marshall) 
Strong, who was born in Lyme, N.H. There 
are no children by either union. 

In politics Mr. Williams is a Republican. 
He attends the Congregational church, of 
which his wife is a member. Though now 
retired from active participation in business, 
Mr. Williams is looked upon as a representa- 
tive business man of the town, and is held in 
high esteem. 




jYRUS S. PRESTON, a resident of 
the village of South Hadley and fore- 
man of the paint shop of Howard 
Gaylord & Co.'s sash, door, and blind fac- 
tor)', was born in South Hadley, April 6, 
1834, son of Joel and Mabel (Smith) Preston. 
His grandfather, Gardner Preston, was born 
in South Lladley, September 15, 1749, and 
was reared to agriculture, which he followed 
through life. He was also County Surveyor, 
and made the original survey of Hampshire 
County when it was laid out. He died at his 
home in this town, May 26, 1834. Gardner 
Preston raised a family of four children, as 
follows (all now deceased): Jerusha, Gardner, 
Joel, and Calvin. 

Joel Preston was born in South Hadley in 
1800. He assisted in carrying on the farm. 



and after the death of his father purchased 
the interests of the other heirs. He later sold 
the property, and moved to Licking County, 
Ohio, where he bought a farm, which he con- 
ducted for twelve years, and then disposing of 
it returned to his native State by wagon, mak- 
ing the journey in twenty-one days. He pur- 
chased a farm of thirty-three acres in South 
Hadley, but after carrying it on for ten years 
sold it, and bought the place now occupied 
by his son, Cyrus S., with whom he passed 
the remainder of his life. He died September 
19, 1881. Joel Preston was twice married. 
His first wife, Mr. Preston's mother, was 
born in Granby, Mass., and was a daughter "f 
Samuel Smith, a farmer and a lifelong resi- 
dent of Granby, who was a prominent man in 
the community and a Deacon of the Congrega- 
tional church. Mr. Smith died at the age of 
eighty-four years in the house in which he was 
born. Joel Preston was the father of eight 
children by his first union, namely: Abigail, 
who married Alonzo Percival, and is now 
dead; Cyrus S., the subject of this sketch; 
Martha, who married E. D. Ingraham, and 
resides in Worcester, Mass. ; Joel, who died 
in Ohio; Henry Joel, an architect of Boston; 
Neville, who was killed in the Civil War; 
Sophia, who married Henry Mansfield, and 
resides in Newtonville, Mass.; and Lyman, a 
resident of South Hadley. The mother hav- 
ing died, Joel Preston wedded for his second 
wife Mrs. Harriet Joslyn, of Granby, who sur- 
vives him and is now residing with a daughter 
in South Hadley. 

Cyrus S. Preston attended district schools 
in Ohio, and later was graduated from the 
high school of South Hadley. He resided 
with his parents until reaching the age of 
twenty years, at which time he began to learn 
the painter's trade; and, after working one 
year in South Hadley, he went to Springfield, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFW 



Mass., where he followed Ins trade for five 
years. He then returned to South Hadley, 
and engaged in working by the day until [861, 
when as a journeyman painter he entered the 
employ of Howard Gaylord & Co., with whom 
he has since remained, at the present time- 
having full eharge of- their paint shops. 

On September 24, 1862, Mr. Preston mar- 
ried Lizzie M. Alden, who was born in Hamp- 
shire County in 1S40. Her father, James 
Alden, is a resident of South Hadley Falls; 
and her mother, whose maiden name was 
Root, is now dead. By this union Mr. Pres- 
ton has had three children, namely: Carrie, 
who married Bertram Bowker, and resides in 
Suffield, Conn. : Nathaniel, a dentist of South 
Hadley; and Warren, who died at the age of 
seventeen. Mr. Preston's first wife died May 
3, 1870; and in 1872 he wedded Annie M. 
Hunter, of Enfield, Mass. They have two 
children, namely: Archie D., who is in busi- 
ness in Scranton, Pa. ; and Cyrus Collier, 
who resides at home. 




lHARLES L. WARREN, of Florence-, 
Mass., who for upward of forty years 

»* has dealt in live-stock, surviving all 

who were his contemporaries in that business 
at the time he started, is actively engaged in 
it still. He was born in Williamsburg, July 
6, 1826, son of Mather and Ann M. (Fairfield) 
Warren, both natives of the same town. 

Cotton Mather Warren, his grandfather, 
was one of the first settlers of Williamsburg. 
He located on a spot between Hatfield and 
Albany, where the foundations of the old 
house are still to be seen. His wife, who be- 
fore marriage was Miss Lois White, of Bel- 
chertown, Mass., bore him five children, as fol- 
lows: Julia, the wife of Charles Bridgman, 
now residing in Ohio; Mrs. Sophia Seeley ; 



Mather: George, a carpenter of Northampton, 
who died at the age of sixty; and Mrs. Lu- 
cinda Bryant, of Pelham, Mass. Mather War- 
ren, besides farming two hundred acres of farm 
land, moved buildings and performed carpen- 
ter work, lie had a blacksmith shop on his 
farm, and owned two saw-mills, which he suc- 
cessfully conducted. His wile, to whom he 
was married in 1 82 1, was a daughter of Ira 
\V. Fairfield, who is said to have been the 
first white male child born in the town of 
Williamsburg. Five children were born to 
them; namely, Almira Caroline, Charles L., 
Hannah M., Henry W.. and William F. 
Almira Caroline became the wife of Seth 
Church. After his death she married a Mr. 
Knight, but is now a widow again, and resides 
in Tennessee. The larger part of her life 
has been spent as a teacher. Prior to her 
marriage she was an instructress in Wilbra- 
ham Academy; and later she and Mr. Church 
taught in Athens, Term. After Mr. Knight's 
death she again took up teaching as a voca- 
tion. Hannah M. married Dr. Hill, of Chi- 
cago, 111., where she died at their home on 
Michigan Avenue, leaving one daughter. 
Henry W., who is a Bishop in the Methodist 
Episcopal church, with headquarters in Den- 
ver, Col., has been twice married. His 
olid wife was the Widow II iff, better known 
as the Cattle Queen of the West: each has 
three children by the fust marriage. Will- 
iam 1'". Warren, who, as will as his brother 
Henry W.. was a graduate ol Middletown 
Academy, is President ol the Boston Uni- 
versity. 

Charles L. Warren acquired his education 
by attendance at the district school for the 
usual length of time and at a select school 
and Wilbraham Academy for two and one 
terms respectively. He remained at 1. 
with his parents, and succeeded to the owner- 



;?6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ship of the old homestead at his father's death. 
In 1867 he removed to his present home, 
which he erected on the outskirts of Florence. 
With the lot on which it stands he purchased 
another adjoining it. In 1870 he sold the 
homestead farm. He deals principally in na- 
tive stock, making a portion of his purchases 
in Vermont; and he has farms from two to 
tour miles from his home, on the pastures of 
which he feeds his stock, while he cultivates 
the tillage land. These farms have fine 
orchards, yielding from two to six hundred 
barrels of apples per year. During the war 
and up to 1883 he conducted a meat market, 
lor which he ran five or six meat carts. 

On November 25, 1846, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Minerva G. Gardner, of 
Hartford, a daughter of B. D. Gardner. 
They became the parents of five children; 
namely, Lizzie M., Fred C, Sarah M., Mary 
L., and Minnie G. Lizzie M., the youngest 



daughter, has made kindergarten work a spe- 
cialty. After establishing her school in Flor- 
ence, she spent a year in Berlin, studying 
kindergarten methods. She is now engaged 
in her school, and is meeting with merited 
success. Fred C., who is married, is a gradu- 
ate of Wilbraham Academy and a successful 
business man. He is a commission merchant 
in Chicago, 111., with an office on Wabash 
Avenue. Sarah M. is a book-keeper at the 
brush factory. Mary L., a music teacher, has 
just returned from Berlin after a year's ab- 
sence spent in study. Minnie G., like the 
other children, received a good practical edu- 
cation in the schools of Florence and at Wil- 
braham Academy. Mr. Warren votes the 
Republican ticket, but has never been desir- 
ous of office. He is much attached to his 
home and family, of whom he may well be 
proud. He is a communicant of the Congre- 
gational church. 



INDEX. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



PAGE 
A 

Aiken, John F 487 

Alk-n, Edward A 43° 

Allen, Henry S 230 

Allen, Roswell H 203 

Allen, Samuel 343 

Anderson, Henry B 296 

Anderson, James R 273 

Andrews, Mrs. Mary F. . . . 2S4 

Atkins, James D 414 

Avery, John C 469 

B 

Bailey, Stephen P 217 

Baker, Edward 526 

Baker. John 552 

Maker, Leonard 117 

Barnes, Dexter K 376 

Barnes, James D 49 

Barrus. Edward T 392 

Barrus, Sheridan E 77 

Barrus, William A 87 

Martlet. Eugene P 562 

Bartlett, Addison H 500 

Bartlett, Elihu P 375 

Bartlett, John A 549 

Bates, Austin D 212 

Bates, Gordyce 177 

Bates, John E 265 

Beals. Moses H 56 

Belden, Albert M., M.D. ... 190 

Bigelow, Orvis F., M.D. . . . 214 

Billings, David P 443 

Billings, George A 98 

Billings, William D 47' 



Misbee, Horatio 466 

Blair, Mrs. Eunice M 412 

Blodgett, Rev. Edward 1'. . . 459 

Blood, Charles E 276 

Bombard, Felix 237 

Bosworth, John L 312 

Boyden, Charles H 304 

Boyle, Rev. James 470 

Bradburn, John W 34 

Brainard, Benjamin C 43 

Brainard, Wells 478 

Brewster. Charles K 93 

Brooks, Charles E 1S5 

Brosnahan. John T 311 

Bryant, Franklin H 192 

Byrns, James A 482 

Byrns. Jeremiah C 301 



Canterbury, George B 569 

Carl, Jacob |V 

Cary, Frank W 207 

Chase, Henry R 495 

Chilson, William 1 572 

Church, Levi 64 

Clapp, Dwight 1' 289 

Clapp, Edwin M 11'' 

Clapp, Egbert J 535 

Clapp, James 242 

Clapp, Lyman W 334 

Clapp. William N 134 

Clark, Charles E iS 

Clark, Capt. Edwin C 2(0 

Clark, Edwin C, Jr 195 

I Clark. Horace 112 



PAGE 

Clark, Horace 1 60 

Clark, Jairus E 224 

Clark, Lewis A 367 

Clark, Rodolphus C 227 

Clark, Thomas F 304 

Clark, Walter A., M.D. ... 323 

Clark, William S 384 

Cobb, Edward M 78 

Comins, Henry C 20 

Coney, Hubert M 12; 

Cook, Samuel M 350 

Cooley, Silas R 1 73 

Cooney. Michael E 493 

Cooney, William E 247 

Copeland, Edward P 175 

Cottrell, George W 229 

Cowing, George W 143 

Cowing. Lewis S 152 

Cowls, Jonathan 413 

Cowls, Ransom 168 

Crafts, David W 33 

Crafts, Josephus 22 

Crosby, Henry A 42 s 

Crouch. Charles S 404 

Cudworth, Ambrose 131 

Cudworth, Joseph 327 

Curtis, A. B 400 

Curtis, Oliver H 248 

Cushman, Avery K 437 

D 

I tamon, James H 13 

Damon. Sylvanus C 

Davis, Andrew J 58 

Davis, Benjamin F 259 



S78 



INDEX 



Davis, Henry C 293" 

Dayton, Frederick A 342 

Dewey, Wilson 88 

DeWitt, Hollis B S3 

Dickinson, Asa 2 23 

Dickinson, Charles H 319 

Dickinson, Daniel W 434 

Dickinson, George P 240 

Dickinson, Marquis F. ... 1 97 

Dickinson, Samuel B 423 

Dickinson, Samuel H 14 

Dickinson, William A 328 

Dickinson, William C 156 

Dickinson, Rev. William E. . . 407 

Downing, Stillman S 343 

Dragon, Oliver 155 

Dresser, George 53S 

Dyer, Charles N 154 



Edwards, Col. Elisha A. . 


• 45' 


Kdwards, Rev. Henry L. . 


C22 


Edwards, Theophilus . . 


. 124 


Ewing, John 15 


. 568 


Ewing, William .... 


• 532 



F 

Kales, William A 267 

Farrar, Nathaniel W 153 

Felton, Charles W 402 

Field, Lemuel B 1 7S 

Fisher, Rev. George E. ... 143 

Fitzgerald, Rev. George M. . . 3S1 

Flint, Josiah W 232 

Ford. Thomas n6 

Forsyth, James 477 

Franz, Adolph, M.D 86 

Fuller, John 476 

G 

Gates, Asahel .281 

Gates, Frank 11. K 364 

Gaylord, Flavel 475 

Gaylord, William H 443 

Geer, Austin 1S3 

Gere, Henry S 517 

Gibbs, Arthur W 3S3 

Gilfillan, Thomas, M.D. . . . 423 

Gillelt, Daniel B 512 

Goldthwait, Ebenezer .... 70 



PAGE 

Goodell, Lafayette W 501 

Gould, Daniel H 213 

Gould, Dr. Frank M 558 

Gould, Joseph R. S 309 

Gould, Mrs. I.urene S ,30 

Granger, James 515 

Craves, Dwight 57 

Graves, Melvin L 26 

Green, George H. 1! 4S3 

Green, Joseph W., Jr 47 

Gridley, C. A 401 

Guilford, Ira A 222 

Guilford, Ralph M 509 

Gurney. Albert N 196 

H 

Hall, George L 54* 

Hamlen, Theron 305 

Hamlin, Wolcott 419 

Hannum, George D 191 

Harlow, Charles N 420 

Harlow, George W 421 

Harney, Richard 139 

Harwood, Benjamin T. ... 277 

Haskell, Charles I) 500 

Hatch, Francis L 206 

Haunton. Horace 220 

Hay, Robert 53 7 

Hayes, Irving B., M.D. . . . 344 

Hebert, Joseph 250 

Hen irk, Charles E 255 

Hill, David 339 

Hill, Henry W \6g 

Hill, Hiram G 501 

Hills, Samuel F JxjS 

Hitchcock, George ('... M.D . . 219 

I [obart, Edmund i 70 

Holbrook, Horace 165 

Holley, Jacob 109 

Horton, Dwight A 1S5 

Hosford, Charles L 1S2 

House, Albert R 129 

Howe, Henry C. M 435 

Howes, Milton S 257 

Hoxie, David E 108 

Hubbard, George W., M.D. . . 359 

Hubbard, Mrs. Rhoda W. . . 427 

Hubbard, Silas G 427 

Humphrey, Charles E 71 

Hunter, Austin 205 

Huntington, Bishop Frederic D. 235 



I 

Ingham, Erastus J 36 

J 

Jennison, David A 275 

Jones. Ira D [67 

Judd Family 560 

Judd, Frederick II 147 

K 

Kappel. August K 541 

Keating, John T 393 

Keating, Robert M 278 

Keedy. Rev. Edward E. . . . 402 

Keith, Justin W 291 

Keith, Monroe mo 

Kelley, Eugene G 28 

Kellogg, Charles H 349 

Kellogg, Simeon 370 

Kidgell, John J 274 

Kimball, Henry A 9 

Kimball, Capt. William 1!. . . 331 

King, Alonzo S 10 

King, Ebenezer A 231 

King, Merriam 152 

Kingman, Levi W 320 

Kingsbury, Arthur L 337 

Kingsley, Elbridge 117 

Kingsley, Joseph H 253 

Kingsley, Justus H 567 

Kinney, Charles M 246 

Kneeland, Frederick N. . . . 35 

Knight, Osman E 303 

L 

Lambie, Jasper E 268 

Latham, William C 543 

Lee, Samuel W., Jr [62 

Livermore, Orrin E 208 

Loomis, Francis 38 

Lussier, Harmidasse .... ;2</ 

Lyman, Charles B 38S 

Lyman, Darwin E 571 

Lyman, E. I'ayson 2S 

Lyman, Eugene H 147 

Lyman, Robert W 160 

Lynch, Michael P 506 

M 

Marsh, Edwin D 229 

Mather, John L 271 



IM>I \ 






PAGE 

McArdle, Owen 264 

McCloud, Henry M 221 

McLellan, Frank R 255 

Meekins, Mrs. Maria S. . . . 429 

Meekins, Mrs. Lucinda . . . 239 

Miller, Edwin C 257 

Miller, Gordon 1! 542 

Miller, William S 3S9 

Montague, Francis C 302 

Montague, George C 404 

Moore, Zaavan A 505 

Morell, John F 338 

Morris, Rev. Franklin G. . . . 42 

Morton, John A 123 

Morton, Lyman M 374 

Moulton, George 1' 80 



N 



Nichols, Albert .... 


. . 1 1 1 


Nichols. Phineas P. . . . 


• • 357 


Nims, Edward P.. MI). . 


. . 48 


Norris, Michael .... 


. . 146 


Nutting. ( leorge .... 


. . 552 



O'Donnell, John IS. . 
Orcutt, William W. . 
Osgood, Frederick A. 
1 His. Harry P. . . . 
( liuii, ( i/.ias I;. . . 



Packard, Edward C. 
Pai kard, Russell K. 
Paige, Christopher W. 
Parsons, Mis. Harriet 
Parsons, Henry A. . 
Parsons, Horace K. . 
Parsons, Samuel I.. . 
Pierce, Channel.) 1 1. 
Pitman, John N. . . 
Polley, Sumner < >. . 
Pomeroy, William C. 
Porter, Jonathan K. . 
Potter, Edward C. 
Potter, Lyman I). 
Powers, Charles N. . 
Powers, Franklin C. 
Pratt, Charles S. . . 
Pratt, William F. . . 



321 
138 

283 

76 
266 



rS2 

[8$ 

340 
52 
5° 

186 

41 
3Si 

2S5 

'9 

21 

564 

222 
282 

254 

380 

570 
11 



Prescott, Alfred C 380 

Preston, Cyrus S 574 

Prouty, Oriville W 37 

Puffer, Charles A 123 

R 

Rainville, Rev. N 547 

Rannenberg, Charles .... 444 

Kay, George H 411 

Record. Charles S (08 

Reed, Alden 1 > 144 

Rew, Ernest W $o(< 

Rhoades, Harvey 140 

Rhodes, Leander 1 532 

Rhodes, Stephen II 351 

Rice, Lyman 348 

Rice, Washington 1 228 

Richards, Charles 240 

Richardson, Aimer F 285 

Richardson, Ebenezei C, M.D. 476 

Roberts, Russell 1 347 

Rohan, Samuel P 271 

Ross, Austin 363 

Rude, Elias 

Ruder, Bruno F 433 

S 

Sabin, Lyman 330 

Sampson, Meritt F 355 

Sawyer, Ezra Thomas .... 457 

Schillare, Amand J 491 

Searle, Holsey J 396 

Seelye, Julius H 314 

Shattuck, Major Charles S. . . 51 

Shaw. Lorin A 320 

Shearn, Joseph H 481 

Shipman, Henry S 218 

Shumway, Thomas T 547 

Sloan, Capt. Timothy W. ... 

Smith. Asa C 457 

Smith, Byron $99 

Smith. Ellen G 529 

Smith, Fred M 2.17 

Smith. < leorge 104 

Smith, George II. \V 542 

Smith, Henry M 324 

Smith, Henry N 25 

Smith, Marshall C 166 

Smith, Newton 213 

Smith, Oren li 373 



Smith, Samuel [98 

Smith, William A 245 

Smith, William E 352 

Speai . Miiick N 306 

Spelman, Onslow C> 61 

Stacy, Alanson W 

Stanton Family ,1 

Stebbins, Francis S 404 

Steele, Isaac H 438 

Stevens, Aaron 169 

Stevens. Arlin V 322 

Stevens, Charles E ''4 

. Lafayette 169 

Stevenson, Rev. Benjamin V. . 133 

Stone, Bradshaw II 103 

Stone, Everett C 62 

Storrs, John H 333 

Stratton, Dr. Chester .... 531 

Strung, Charles E 544 

Swain, Rev. Richard L. ... 465 

Swift River Company .... 334 

T 

Taylor, Frederick 96 

Taylor, Hiram 159 

Taylor, Hiram 407 

Taylor, Horace S 112 

Taylor, Sylvester II 17 

Taylor, Willard A 482 

Thayer, Walter H 356 

Thieme, William M 379 

Thomson, George F., M.D. . . 382 

Thorington, Andrew N . ... 563 

Thorpe, John C 5 1 3 

Thurston, Lysander 24c; 

Tileston, Capt. Charles I.. . . 71 

Tinker. George W 508 

Todd, Asa A 

Todd. William H 238 

Tower, Dexter 121 

lower, Lorenzo H 131 

Tower, Warren E 201 

Townsend, Rev. Arthur C. . . 447 

Trumbull, James R 58 

Turner, John M 418 

U 

Ufford, Henry 1 559 

Underwood, Richard F. ... 91 

Upson, Charles H 79 

Utley, George D 550 



5 8o 



INDEX 



Vaughn, Horace H 44 

Vogel, John 191 

W 

Wainwright, J. Arthur .... 360 

Walker Brothers 52.5 

Walker, Oliver 554 

Walsh. Charles F. A., M.I). . . 310 

Ward, Arthur J.N 521 

Ward, Wilbur H. II 63 

Warner, Alonzo C 175 



Warner, Charles L 72 Willcutt, Jason 441 

Warner, Egbert S 489 Willcutt, Martin 102 

Warner, Henry W 202 Williams, Lucas 573 

Warren, Alonzo H 95 Williams, Lucien B 462 



Warren, Charles L 575 

Washburn, Mrs. Mary C. . . . 442 
Watts, Osmyn 130 



Williams, Oren 107 

Witherell, Chauncey .... 84 

Woods, Cyrus F 273 

Webster, Jedediah P. . . . 36S , Woods, Henry M 295 

Wells, Daniel W 148 [ Wright, Ansel 516 

Wetherell, Barney T 2S6 Wright, Clark B [6z ' 

Whitcomb, Waldo H 68 j Wright, John 549- 

White, Luke B 85 Wright, Jonathan K 553 

Wiethauper, John H 454 Wright, Luther C 101 



PORTRAITS. 



PA'.E 

Atkins. James D 415 

Bailey, Stephen P 216 

Baker, Edward 527 

Barnes, Dexter R 377 

Billings, George A 99 

Bisbee, Horatio 467 

Bryant. Franklin H 193 

Carl, Jacob 486 

Chase, Henry R 494 

Clapp, Mr. and Mrs. James . . 243 

Clapp, William N 135 

Clark. Edwin C 21 >i 

Clark, Horace 113 

Clark, Horace L 60 

Clark, Jairus E 225 

Clark, William S 385 

Crafts, David W 32 

Crafts, Josephus 23 

Crouch, Charles S 403 

Cudworth, Joseph 326 

Damon, Sylvanus C 299 

Dewey, Wilson 89 

DeWitt, Hollis B 82 

Dickinson, Charles H 318 

Dickinson, Samuel H 15 



[AGE 

Dickinson, William H. ... 157 

Dresser, George 539 

Edwards, Elisha A 450 

Field, Lemuel B 179 

Fisher, Rev. George E. ... 142 

Flint, Josiah W 233 

Gates, Frank H. N 365 

Gaylord, Flavel 474 

Gillett. Daniel B 513 

Goodell, L. W 51° 

Green, Joseph W., Jr 46 

Hayes, Irving B.. M.D. . . . 345 

Hobart, Edmund 171 

House, Albert R 128 

Hubbard, Silas G 4-6 

Keating, Robert M 279 

Kellogg, Simeon 37] 

Kimball, Henry A 8 

Kingsbury. Arthur L 336 

Kingsley, Joseph H 252 

Lee, Samuel W., Jr 163 

Livermore, Orrin E 209 

Lyman, Robert W t6o 

Mather. John L 270 

Moore, Zaavan A 504 



Parsons, Enos j^ 

Parsons. Horace K 187 

Parsons, Samuel L 40 

Rainville. Rev. N 546 

Rannenberg, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. 445 

Ray, George H 410 

Rhodes, Leander L 533 

Ross, Austin 

Ruder, Bruno F 432 

Sampson, Meritt F 354 

Sawyer, E. Thomas 456 

Searle, Holsey J 397 

Shearn, Joseph H 

Spear. Mirick N 307 

Stevens, Charles E 65 

Tower, Dexter 120 

Tower, Warren E 200 

Ward, Arthur J. N 520 

Warner, Charles L 73 

Wells. Daniel W 149 

Wetherell, Barney T 287 

Willcutt. Jason 440 

Williams. Oren 106 



65 78" I 






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